I hadn't thought of that. Yes, I have held hands at a peace or civil rights rally and prayed. Sometimes, the prayer hasn't been as inclusive as it should have been, and then I've felt uncomfortable - I really hate to see anybody excluded.

There is one problem in removing religious expression from the peace movement and civil rights and anti-poverty movements. It really bothers the right-wingers that there are religious people who oppose George W. Bush. The visible presence of clergy in the peace and civil rights movements has been especially powerful and effective.

Some clergymen can pray without excluding people. Martin Luther King, Jr., was certainly religious - but I don't think his prayer was such that people felt excluded. Same with Jesse Jackson.
Dan & Phil Berrigan were both priests when they first became involved in the peace movement, and Dan is still a Jesuit priest. Their prayers are even more inclusive than those of King and Jackson.

But can you picture Martin Luther King or Jesse Jackson speaking without religious references? Were they unsuitable civil rights leaders because of that?
-Joe Offer-