The National Prayer Breakfast was already a controversial event this year, as at least one group had urged President Obama to skip the annual event attended by sitting Presidents for the past few decades.

He chose to attend, but he did not avoid controversy.  He addressed the concerns of those who did not want him to attend by specifically speaking against a law about homosexuals in Uganda.  The normally smooth orator also managed to mispronounce a military rank, calling a Navy medic a “corpse-man” rather than a “corpsman” (properly pronounced “core-man”) (not once, but three times), and he expressed the thought that non-theists “express God’s grace:”

God’s grace, and the compassion and decency of the American people is expressed through the men and women like Corpsman Brossard…  It’s expressed…By Americans of every faith, and no faith, uniting around a common purpose, a higher purpose.

Another interesting event was the message from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.  Though the Department of Defense is under seemingly withering criticism about religion in its ranks, the highest positioned member of the US military not only attended the breakfast, he also prayed–and in a markedly Christian way:

Father in heaven, we gather today to ask your blessing over the lives and decisions of those who lead us around the world.

Theirs is a mighty task and a noble calling. For upon their shoulders rest the hopes and dreams of billions of people — not only of this generation, but of future generations who know us not. May you guide them in that pursuit, oh Lord.

Give them the faith to seek your guidance, the wisdom to make the right decisions and the character to see those decisions through. Help them choose love over hate, courage over fear, principle over expediency. Let them always seek concord and peace, and to remember that the best leader is a good and humble servant.

Encourage them, Father, to seek your counsel as Solomon himself did in 1 Kings, Chapter 3, saying to you, “But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties, so give me a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.”

May you bless us all, Lord – your children – and give our leaders that same discerning heart. Help us always to distinguish between right and wrong and to serve others before ourselves. This we pray in thy name, Amen.

While most military members don’t attend The National Prayer Breakfast, many bases and posts have their own celebration of the event coordinated through the military chapel.  Many include recognition of the major religions in the military, integrating readings from the Bible, Koran, and Torah, as at Fort Irwin.  Some include presentations by national leaders or head Chaplains; others include motivational messages of faith by inspirational speakers, as at Schofield Barracks.

Prayer by uniformed military members has been the object of protest over the past few years, including the recent dismissal of a lawsuit against the Department of Defense on that very subject.  People have complained that a military officer saying “will you bow your heads with me” constitutes an unConstitutional order, or that a religious activity performed in uniform equates to government endorsement.  James Carroll, in an op-ed at the Boston Globe, makes a similar argument in his call for the prayer breakfasts to end, claiming they represent a “festival of American Christian nationalism.”  (James Carroll‘s book inspired a documentary in which he and Michael Weinstein appeared.)  Each protest has proposed a solution that would functionally restrict public prayer in uniform, a result that would likely even impact such benign activities as the annual National Prayer Breakfast.

As Admiral Mullen demonstrated, however, public prayer by members of the military, even in uniform, and even by officers who hold the spectre of command, is a protected act.  Regardless of their faith, men and women in the military can pray in public, in groups, and even in formations without fear of reprisal.  While there are times that military necessity dictates that some liberties be restricted, the US military admirably protects the religious freedom of its members around the world, in peace and in combat.

As an interesting aside, Tim Tebow–a college football player known as much for his outspoken Christianity as his championship record–sat right next to Admiral Mullen at the National Prayer Breakfast.  He gave the closing prayer…a few minutes after President Obama left.

See the full text of President Obama’s speech.  The entire National Prayer Breakfast–up until the departure of President Obama–can be viewed at C-SPAN.  Admiral Mullen’s prayer via Mad Padre.