Prayers For Rain Led By Georgia Governor On Statehouse Steps

CBS News reports on the hour-long event held on the grounds of Atlanta's state capitol yesterday in which Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue led a crowd of several hundred people in prayer for rain for the drought-stricken state. Twenty members of the Atlanta Freethought Society, concerned about church-state separation, led a protest nearby. While the governor attempted to make the event an interfaith ceremony, only three Protestant clergy participated. CNN has a video clip of the Governor praying at the event. The AP says" While public prayer vigils might raise eyebrows in other parts of the nation, they are mostly shrugged off in the Bible Belt, where turning to the heavens for help is common and sometimes even politically expedient." (See prior related posting.)