Photo by brian.mosley

Already several hours into Vincent Gray’s first day as mayor, the Secular Coaltion for America is crying ‘prayer without representation’ over Gray’s first inaugural event of today. The group is publicly protesting this morning’s ecumenical prayer service for excluding atheists, humanists, agnostics and other non-theists in the event’s program.

The service, which included Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu leaders, was entitled “One City Praying Together” and touched upon many of the same “one city” themes brought up in Gray’s successful campaign. In addition, D.C. Council chairman-elect Kwame R. Brown, several councilmembers and Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier were in attendance.

“We would prefer that a government function such as an inauguration not be entwined with religion,” said Amanda Knief, government relations manager for the SCA, in a press release. The group purports that within hours of the event’s announcement on December 20, the mayor-elect’s transition team was contacted for inclusion in the event, however, they were told that the program was set and the group could not be included.

D.C., particularly in national news, has seen its fair share of attention over its embracing of secular groups. President Obama’s historical inaugural speech two years ago still rings in the ears of humanists and secularists for his undeniable, albeit short, mention of their beliefs. More recently, the President’s National Day of Prayer was deemed constitutional by a U.S. district judge. Whether the exclusion were a mistake or snub, having Gray’s staff shrug their shoulders and say “tough luck” to a vocal subsection of D.C. cannot be the right foot to start off one’s term, let alone boast inclusion.