I disagree with Patsy Varano's evaluation (May 10 letters to the editor) of U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb's recent decision declaring that the National Day of Prayer is an unconstitutional action.

Crabb was correct in her identification that the National Day of Prayer violates the secular nature of our republic, despite the fact that participation is voluntary.

The government, by acknowledging an official day of prayer, is giving an endorsement of religion. It is unfortunate, but not surprising, that President Barack Obama — a former constitutional law professor — shares Varano's position.

It is an alarming state of affairs when becoming a politician in America today requires one to profess belief in some form of the supernatural to, paradoxically, be taken seriously by the electorate.

A "National Day of Reason" would be a more appropriate commemoration, given that the United States, at its inception, was the culmination and logical result of the unleashing of reason from centuries of subservience to faith.