I realize this makes me extremely cranky, but I am so, so tired of religious invocations & prayers at what should be secular government events. Everyone deserves the freedom to exercise their religion. But government should not endorse religion (and, let's be real, Christianity) https://twitter.com/seculardotorg/status/1352621043849060352

We're very used to it, so it seems normal, but it's incredibly alienating to so many. And if you experience something similar in another country where another religion is given primacy, you may start to see it differently.

A few years ago I was in a majority-Muslim country at a conference on media; the conference started with a pretty extended prayer to Allah. And of course, not my country, not my conference; I sat respectfully. But it certainly set a tone, and set some invisible boundaries.

It struck me because it was unfamiliar. But of course in the U.S. we include Christian prayer (or "non-denominational prayer," which is still Christian) in so many of our political events, and I'll bet it feels much the same for folks who didn't grow up with Christianity.

One difference is that the country I was a self-identified Islamic republic. The U.S. claims to be a country where the government does not establish any one religion. I really wish Democrats would embrace personal faith and a wholly secular model of governance.

*The country I was IN was... etc. EDIT BUTTON PLZ.

This isn't solved by adding a Rabbi & an Imam. The fastest-growing religious group in the U.S. is nones. I'm a wishy-washy Christian whose spiritual beliefs are complicated, but if I want Christian religious guidance, I'll go to church or read up. I don't need it from Washington.

And I would just say that if you need your religion publicly enforced -- whether that's through blasphemy laws or by getting your back up at the prospect that government events wouldn't feature prayer -- maybe your faith needs more of YOUR attention, not the government's.

If you loved this extremely grouchy thread, just wait until you hear my thoughts on the Pledge of Allegiance.