CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
April 26, 2012 – 2:13 a.m.
Chairman Says Opening Prayer Sets Civil Tone for Hearings
By Megan Scully, CQ Staff
Last fall, the chairman of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee began opening his hearings with something unusual. Missouri Republican
The six-term lawmaker says his prayers are a civil way to begin the panel’s work — much as each day’s House floor session begins, he added.
“We start Congress with a prayer, and I think it’s a good idea to ask the Lord’s blessing,” said Akin, a Presbyterian with a divinity degree. “It gives us a sense of being respectful to each other.”
While prayer in public institutions — especially to a particular deity — can be an explosive issue, none of Akin’s subcommittee colleagues have complained. One called the practice the chairman’s prerogative.
“I respect how the chair wants to conduct his subcommittee,” said subcommittee member
But some other lawmakers and advocates for separation of church and state called the practice a bad idea.
“Any prayer that starts an official public meeting that pertains to any one particular religion is probably not in good judgment,” said Armed Services Committee member
A prayer in a hearing is highly unusual on Capitol Hill. Long-time congressional observers could not recall anything similar to Akin’s procedures. The daily prayer on the House floor, when offered by the House chaplain, is non-denominational. Akin, however, makes clear his Christian faith.
“Heavenly Father . . . help us to be wise, help us to be good planners and good stewards,” Akin said at the start of a March 29 hearing on Navy acquisition programs. “And we pray that you help us with the somewhat busy schedule this morning, and the votes and all. And I pray in Jesus’ name.”
Akin, a member of the bipartisan Congressional Prayer Caucus, noted that his prayers in the subcommittee are personal, and that others can pray to whomever they like. But Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called Akin’s explanation “too cute by half.”
“This is obviously a Christian prayer, he’s praying it,” Lynn said. “The fact that he says ‘I pray’ really does not negate the fact that this is a public prayer in a public space in a public event sponsored by and promoted by a public official who either knows or should know that even members of his own subcommittee do not share the same religious background.”
Akin, a candidate this year in a three-way Republican Senate primary, has not dodged controversy over bringing religion into public life. In 2011, for example, he criticized NBC for omitting “under God” and “indivisible” from the Pledge of Allegiance aired during the U.S. Open golf tournament. Two years earlier, he joined a “Prayercast” organized by the Family Research Council to pray for Senate rejection of health care overhaul legislation.
More recently, Akin has emphasized his faith in his run for the Senate seat held by Democrat
Chairman Says Opening Prayer Sets Civil Tone for Hearings
Marvin Overby, a University of Missouri political science professor, said Akin’s aggressive stance on religious issues could help him with rural voters in a statewide race.
“This is not the first time he’s sort of waded into these controversial waters about religion,” Overby said, and making religion an issue “could be reflecting his attempts to solidify his position at the head of the Republican pack there for the nomination.”