Thousands across the country are observing the 60th National Day of Prayer today. And unlike last year, Christians are doing so with ease, knowing that a previous ruling that declared the prayer day unconstitutional has been overturned.
"This is a poignant moment for the National Day of Prayer because one year ago we met right here with a shadow hanging over the National Day of Prayer," said Dr. James Dobson, a prominent evangelical whose wife, Shirley, leads the annual observance.
Speaking Thursday in the Cannon House Office building, Dobson expressed relief and celebrated the 3-0 decision by the 7th U.S. Court of Appeals last month to throw out a legal challenge against NDOP.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb sided with the humanist group Freedom From Religion Foundation in determining that the annual day of prayer was in violation of the separation of church and state. She struck down the federal statute creating the National Day of Prayer as unconstitutional.
Dobson admitted on Thursday that he didn't know what to expect when the ruling was issued.
"We didn't know if we could come to a government building [to pray], we did not know if 48 governors could sign proclamations because a judge had said it's all unconstitutional," he said.
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