"National Prayer Breakfast" ... really???

The same way as we perceive ours, few would give a fuck. Closeness to God is not a high priority in the good ol usa

It's been going on for the better part of a century.  I think if it was canceled at this point it would cause more problems than it currently poses.  Now if we were all required to attend, I might be concerned.  

Stop voting for people that say they go to church. 

It's a bullshit pandering notion that pretty much goes against the foundations and intent of this secular govt/country (ie separating church & state)....but I am hardcore on that and even hate it when any President or politician closes a speech with "...and god bless the United States of America." I still look forward to the day when we can unabashedly elect a single woman or man that doesn't also come with the now-customary, seemingly required, first lady or first gentleman tag-along. 

Sorry to offend anyone's potentially religious views but that stuff should have no part in our govt and we are asking for trouble by letting it linger. At a minimum, it invites a holy war (but look at our stupid history around that too).

Roy Moore from Alabama (yes, that same kiddie lover) became famous for getting shot down twice over his insistance to have some statue/plaque/devotion to the ten commandments on display in a courthouse down there. Fuck That.

>>>>>Stop voting for people that say they go to church. 

Around here, all households receive a voter pamphlet containing statements from all the candidates from the drainage district on up.   It's a good way to weed out the religious wackos and MAGA nuts, especially for the less prominent races where you may have never heard of any of the candidates before.

>If the US is currently undergoing convulsions - with the "dominant caste" willing to resort to a violent overthrow of our Democracy - does it help matters to keep the dominant caste's belief system front and center as having some sort of official quasi leadership role in the national spotlight?<

^that IS a large part of the problem. If an elected official cannot handle the job and make tough decisions that serve the whole country and it's diverse people with different backgrounds and beliefs (which are so far mostly still allowed. LOL) without publically leaning on fairy tales or "a big guy in the sky" for some semblance of guidance - or the lashing threat thereof which is already  skewing their own sway as it is - then they should not be involved in policy-making.

Tax exempt status of churches need to be watched as closely as our representative making investments in the stock market.

^even closer, as they have become quasi-political fundraising/lobbying entities. The right is OK with that though because it helps push their agenda as an answer to the left's affiliation with unions, etc. Both parties suck and are guilty.

I have always found the imposition of religious rhetoric on our society offensive. There is a large minority here who believe the USA to be a "Christian Nation." They are wrong.

a great non profit based out of Madison

https://ffrf.org/

One of my big takes on the Trump era was how white churches never stood up for black churches and their disagreements with Trump and his racial rants, and attempts at policy changes. Men of God, yea right 

LOL. Joe, I saw a surprising primetime-spot TV commercial for that organization the other night which closed with the founder saying, "and, no, I am not afraid of burning in hell."

^Ron Reagan Jr........on an interview on NPR he said there were just a few seconds on that commercial that needed filled so he quipped in, Ron Reagan, lifelong athiest, not afraid of burning in hell.

That's right, thanks for the clarification....and the Reagan twist that drops a bomb right into it as well. Nice!

If anyone can show me what/ who  causes more hatrid, pain, wars, killings and general mayhem through-out this world than organized religion, please let me know.  And the "big three" are the worst.   They are all evil superstitious shit that needs to be banished from this earth. Neither is better than the others. They all suck horribly. And all take in gullible folks that are scared.  I have known this since my teen yrs. At twelve, I figured out christianity was crap.  And soon expanded that to all religions.  If I have offended anyone, then too bad. The christian right has been offending my sensibilities all my life. And voting in total scumbags because, hey, the repubs are the christians, right?

Total negative crap.

>>>One of my big takes on the Trump era was how white churches never stood up for black churches and their disagreements with Trump and his racial rants, and attempts at policy changes. Men of God, yea right 
 

A major part of MLK's Letter from a Birmingham Jail is criticism of white churches ignoring dealing with Jim Crow.

Check the founding dates of private church schools in your area.  So many were founded 1964-68, the same time civil rights legislation was passed in Congress.

America is racist as fuck.

For sure....and the charter school (bowel) movement only largely seems to reinforce that alongside it's ultimate quest to push religion (and bad politics) onto the public dime too. 

Wow did this thread morph.

Organized Religions are less than honorable institutions, this is a shock to some ? Ever since someone figured out how to make a buck on it, nothing is sacred, and their leaders could all be held in contempt for all sorts of disgraceful shit over the years. But that's Them (the fucks who manipulated the Words to suit their own agenda), not Us (the ones who live with some Faith, wether they care to admit it or not). 

Where I live, its mostly faith based charities (Catholic, Muslim + Jewish) that make the most positive difference in a shitload of peoples lives. From keeping food pantries stocked to fuel assistance in the winter, to opening preschools after covid so parents can go to work,  to running homeless shelters and soup kitchens, to giving away free clothes and furniture for anyone who is in need, to helping relocate, acclimate and supply Afghan refugees that have recently settled in the area.  

It's a mistake to paint these organizations with the broad brush of evil and hate. Where I live they do the good work that makes the difference in so many lives and in the process make us all proud. As little as I do with them, I'm proud to do it.

Jesus is just alright

Hypocrites don't make a religion and faith false. Most are not living the true way!!

Where were they going without ever knowing the way?

The Lord's Prayer
by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Our father whose art's in heaven,
hollow be thy name,
unless things change.
Thy wigdom come and gone,
Thy will will be undone
on earth, as it isn't heaven.
Give us this day our daily dread
at least three times a day,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we would forgive those lovelies
whom we wish would trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation
too often on weekdays,
but deliver us from evil,
whose presence remains unexplained
in thy kingdom of power and glory.
Oh, man!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rASCwODYuxU