The traditional element of prayer at the presidential inauguration can't seem to find universal blessing this year.
Two of the clergy tapped to participate in President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural festivities have drawn a wave of criticism – leading to disagreements about who should say the prayers, what they should say, and even whether prayer should be part of next week's events at all.
Today, Sacramento resident and atheist activist Dr. Michael Newdow will argue in Washington, D.C., District Court that prayer and any reference to religion should be removed from the inauguration.
This action comes on top of what has already become a divisive matter, with gay rights activists and traditionalists sparring over the politics behind the clergy leading the prayers.
"Is it possible to please everyone? I don't think so. But this year, it's been really difficult," said the Rev. Thomas Reese of the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University in Washington. "People seem to be pretty upset."
The selection of the Rev. Rick Warren to offer the invocation Tuesday infuriated gay rights supporters who asked Obama to rescind the invitation. Warren, considered the most influential pastor in the country, endorsed Proposition 8, the California measure that banned same-sex marriage.
Now, evangelists are mad.
The Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, will deliver the invocation at an inaugural event Sunday on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Robinson advised Obama on gay issues during the campaign. Many say Robinson's pick was the president-elect's way to make amends with the gay community.
However, the announcement that Robinson, one of the most controversial figures in the church, will play such a high-profile role has angered conservative Christians.
"Robinson is a schismatic figure who has intentionally caused deep hurt and division in the Christian church," said a statement Wednesday by the Association for Church Renewal, a coalition of 30 Christian groups.
But Newdow – who has sued the Elk Grove school district over prayer in schools – says religion has no part in inaugural festivities.
"Look at what the government is getting into here," said Newdow, an emergency room doctor with a law degree.
"Look at all the angst this is causing," he said. "The government shouldn't be in the religion business."
Religion experts say the controversy surrounding Warren and Robinson shouldn't overshadow the most telling part about the ministers participating in next week's festivities – their diversity.
The Rev. Sharon Watkins, president and general minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), will be the first woman selected to deliver the sermon at the national prayer service held on the day after the inauguration.
Watkins has not spoken out about gay marriage, and her denomination allows individual churches to set their own rules regarding the issue, said the Rev. Bob Cornwall, a pastor who writes the blog "Ponderings on a Faith Journey." The Protestant denomination that Watkins leads has fewer than 700,000 members.
"We're ecstatic to have a leader of our small denomination play this big role," said Cornwall. "I think her message will be to unify, and that will be the theme of the day."
The Rev. Joseph Lowery, an 87-year-old civil rights icon who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, will deliver the benediction at the swearing-in.
"The choices he (Obama) has made cross the spectrum in the clergy and seem to represent the approach he wants to take to government," said Professor William Turner Jr. of Duke University Divinity School. "Reverend Lowery is an important choice in the civil rights community."
The tradition of having prayer at an inauguration was started by George Washington, who had a prayer service after he was sworn in by a chaplain who used the Book of Common Prayer, Reese said. Washington added the phrase "So help me God" – which Obama also wants to say – after taking the oath in 1789, according to the National Archives.
Most presidents used that Bible at their swearing-in ceremonies.
Lyndon Baines Johnson was sworn into office on John F. Kennedy's Catholic missal because there was no Bible on Air Force One. Obama will take his oath of office on the Bible used by Abraham Lincoln.
For decades, the minister of choice for presidential inaugurations was Billy Graham, who has been called "America's pastor." Graham, 90, makes few public appearances now.
It also was traditional to have a Catholic priest, a Protestant minister and a rabbi at the inaugural ceremony, Reese said. He noted the important thing is that the prayers be unifying. "It should be one that people of all faiths can relate to."
In 2001, Newdow sued to stop Franklin Graham from referring to Jesus when he delivered the invocation at President George W. Bush's inauguration. Newdow lost.
Warren has not said whether he would refer to Jesus in his prayer.
"I'm a Christian pastor, so I will pray the only kind of prayer I know how to pray," he said in a statement to the Associated Press.
Newdow, who is seeking an injunction to have the phrase "so help me God" banned from the swearing-in ceremony, knows he is facing an uphill battle.
"I'll probably lose," he said, "because they'll argue that history and tradition are on their side."
Call the Bee's Jennifer Garza, (916) 321-1133.
