Critics attack Rick Perry’s prayer rally

Rick Perry's decision to lead a Christian prayer and fasting rally this Saturday--an event called "The Response"-- is drawing flak from critics from some who argue the Texas governor is using religion for political gain.

Perry launched the rally as a way to help bring Christians together in prayer. The idea was to petition for divine assistance to help the nation emerge from its financial woes and other crises.

But some say Perry's involvement promotes the exclusion of other faith traditions, and could even violate laws.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation--a church-and-state watchdog group--filed suit last month to block Perry's involvement in the Houston event. The group's complaint argued that that Perry's sponsorship of the rally is unconstitutional because it suggests the government prefers Christianity. That lawsuit was dismissed July 28 by a judge who said the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue in Texas courts. But criticism from them and other groups continues.

Indeed, some groups at odds with Perry over the event are staging their own counterdemonstrations: The Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State as well as the LGBT Political Caucus are holding competing events in Houston this weekend.

Meanwhile the liberal civil-rights group People for the American Way has issued a series of statements condemning the rally. And the Texas Freedom Network sent the governor a letter bearing 10,000 signatures accusing him of using religion for political gain.

Others have questioned Perry's decision to tie himself to some of the event's more controversial figures, including Texas pastor John Hagee*, who has made inflammatory statements about the Catholic church and has stated Adolf Hitler was sent by God to kill Jewish people, as well as the American Family Association (AFA)--which the Southern Poverty Law Center categorizes as a hate group, due to statements that AFA issues director Bryan Fischer has made about gays and Muslims.

But Perry and his supporters say Saturday's event has nothing to do with politics. (Perry, an evangelical Christian, does not yet have an official campaign and hasn't announced his 2012 presidential bid). Neither the governor nor the state of Texas has directed any funding toward the event, the Perry camp notes; rather, the rental fees for Reliant stadium are being footed by the AFA

Perry, who has garnered significant support from evangelicals and many social conservatives for Saturday's rally, has a history of facing criticism for mixing religion and politics during his tenure.

In 2005, Perry sparked protests by choosing to sign an anti-abortion and same-sex marriage bill at an evangelical Christian school.

This past April, Perry issued a gubernatorial proclamation calling for three days of prayer to combat a drought.

*UPDATE 11:15PM EST: Hagee spokesman Ari Morgenstern emailed a statement to The Ticket noting that while in the past, Hagee has made statements that some mistook as a slander of the Catholic Church, he has since reconciled with the Catholic League and enjoys a good relationship with the Catholic community. And in explicating past statements on Hitler's role in Hagee's interpretation of biblical prophecy, Morgenstern contends that "in this analysis, Pastor Hagee was embracing the teachings of noted Jewish theologian Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal who, before his death at the hands of the Nazis, addressed the tragedy, noting: 'the sole purpose of all the afflictions that smite us in our exile is to arouse us to return to our Holy Land.'"