When I read the three responses last week to my letter regarding the Fountain Hills National Day of Prayer observance I was struck by the fact that none of them addressed my main concern that it appeared to be more of a political event than a religious one due to the advertised content: Pledge of Allegiance, Preamble to Constitution, Gettysburg Address and “key-note” speech by a Republican politician.

One person actually seemed to legitimize my concerns by jumping straight to criticizing our President -- who wasn’t even mentioned by me -- and shouldn’t have anything to do with a National Day of Prayer if it is truly a religious event and not a political one.

I disregarded this man’s response when I saw his statement that Obama’s “actual legitimacy is still in question.” This is patently not true and people who continue to play this card only set themselves apart as ignorant, uninformed and rabidly partisan. Such people can’t be swayed by reason or truth.

The point of my objection to a National Day of Prayer, decreed by the United States government, is my belief (as it was Thomas Jefferson’s and other founding fathers) that church and state should be separated for the sake of both the government and the religions.

The First Amendment attempted to further define the meaning of the Establishment Clause and this has been cited repeatedly by the Supreme Court to support the wall of separation.

If, however, a community wanted to organize a day where everyone would pray together for the good of the nation, wouldn’t it be better to have many different religious traditions take part similar to the Interfaith Thanksgiving service that takes place every year?

This sort of service is a uniting event instead of a divisive one and can only strengthen our community.