The Practicing Progressive

I don’t suppose it was just because a certain Saturday columnist for the Summit Daily News expressed objection to the selection of Pastor Rick Warren as prayer-in-chief at this week’s presidential inauguration that gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson was invited to offer up a public prayer of his own at the inaugural kick-off festivities for the new president.

Clearly our new president seeks to make good on his pledge to bring America back from the brink of paralyzing partisan politics by seeking to include representatives from a wide range of political and religious perspectives. Of course, the problem comes in discerning where to draw the line on such inclusive hospitality.

For instance, I suspect there may be more than a few of the faithful who wish their own worldview would be equally represented before the millions who will be watching this coming Tuesday morning. With Rick Warren’s very public prejudices on display, one could fairly assume that those holding other bigoted biases will feel slighted by President Obama’s failure to include them as well.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if a Scientologist or two have had their feelings hurt by the inevitable exclusiveness that comes from trying to balance the theological teeter-totter as our new president is obviously trying to do. And what about our Hindu brothers and sisters who surely must feel slighted when they hear the ever-recurring references to the one God of monotheism in the midst of their polytheistic practices? Then there are the Lutherans who would be miffed to the max by their exclusion but wouldn’t dream of complaining. My heart even goes out to my Calvinist friends who surely would like to get their two-cents in regarding predestination before the president starts thinking he attained this lofty stature on his own. And is it not fair to assume there are rabbinic members of the pro-Israel lobby who would like the opportunity to make sure we all understand how God is blessing the current bombing barrage in Gaza just as a humble imam in Hamas might make his case for Allah’s benediction upon using schools, hospitals and mosques as rocket-launching sites? Personally, I wouldn’t mind having a Quaker lead us all in a lengthy peaceful silence but quiet reflection doesn’t seem too popular either in churches or out.

Hospitality has its drawbacks, it would seem. By the time a truly representative inaugural prayer could be pronounced, all of us would have long ago reached for the remote. As our new president is surely discovering, pleasing the people who claim to be pleasing God can be a very unpleasant proposition. You usually end up angering all and being damned by most. That is why almost every prayer before politicians ends up as nothing more than a few pious platitudes half-baked into a semi-humble pie.

Many years ago, I was talked into giving one such prayer before our Colorado House of Representatives. As I waited to be introduced, the woman in charge of public piety for that day reminded me that all prayers before the House were non-denominational and, even more importantly, short. She checked back with me several times before my scheduled debut and each time she would say something like, “Are you ready to give your SHORT prayer?” and “It’s almost time for the SHORT prayer.” Even I got her point and pared my message to the Almighty down to nothing more than the briefest of greetings, the swiftest of thanks and a good-bye that was perilously close to being downright curt. As I left the chamber, somewhat stunned by my ability to be so sanctimoniously succinct, I caught a glimpse of my female chaperone. She was giving me the “OK” sign with her thumb and forefinger. I shuddered to think what she would have done if I had run a little long.

In the intervening years, I have come to believe that the founding fathers were especially wise in their collective determination to keep politics and religion apart. I have a sneaky hunch, given the brouhaha brewing over inaugural prayers and their pray-ers, our new president might soon feel the same.