Below The Beltway

Why do people demand phony displays of religious piety from their political leaders ?

President Obama is distancing himself from the National Day of Prayer by nixing a formal early morning service and not attending a large Catholic prayer breakfast the next morning.

All Mr. Obama will do for the National Day of Prayer, which is Thursday, is sign a proclamation honoring the day, which originated in 1952 when Congress set aside the first Thursday in May for the observance.

For the past eight years, President George W. Bush invited selected Christian and Jewish leaders to the White House East Room, where he typically would give a short speech and several leaders offered prayers.

Obama White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that the president is simply reverting back to pre-Bush administration practice.

Okay, so they just want to go back to what President’s before W — including Ronald Reagan — did, so what’s the problem ?

Well:

Some evangelicals said they were not surprised by Mr. Obama’s decision.

“For those of us who have our doubts about Obama’s faith, no, we did not expect him to have the service,” said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America. “But as president, he should put his own lack of faith aside and live up to the office.”

So, in other words, even though you don’t think Obama shares your faith, you want him to pretend that he does ?

I don’t get it.

I could care less whether or not Obama has a National Day of Prayer event at the White House and, if you are among those who question his stated Christianity, I can’t understand why you’d want him to lie about it just to make you happy.

Update: Down in the comments, TFR makes note of a biblical phrase that seems applicable here:

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

(…)

“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.