Action Alert! Arizona Governor Admits to Governing with Divine Guidance

Educate Arizona Governor Jan Brewer

October 7, 2009

Please take a moment to educate Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer on the need to stop using her secular office to promote her very public love affair with Christianity. In mid-September the Arizona Daily Star reported that Governor Brewer, in a speech to Missouri Synod pastors, stated that the United States is a Christian country, that God chose her to govern her state, and that the state of Arizona will only receive help in these critical times through prayer. "I firmly believe that God has placed me in this powerful position of Arizona's governor to help guide our state through the difficulty that we are currently facing," said Brewer. We cannot "possibly get through without asking for help and guidance from Jesus Christ and from God," said Brewer. She claims she governs with "divine intervention." According to the Arizona Daily Star, Brewer said, "there are times when, during a meeting with staffers, one will suggest praying about an issue. And we stop, and we take that time, and we pray about it. And it does make a difference."

Not only does this send the message that Arizona government endorses Christianity, such statements and practices alienate and intimidate the state's non-Christian and nonbelieving citizens. Her words also flagrantly ignore the fact that, in this democratic society, Arizona voters, not God, chose her to govern.

Governor Brewer's biography on her official state website lists her involvement with Hope and a Future, a Christian neurodevelopment organization whose mission reads: "Equip families with specific knowledge, expertise, and methodologies which will assist their children as they prepare for their fullest, God given potential and destiny. Offer hope, encouragement, and support to families while giving God all the Glory." She is a member of the Life in Christ Lutheran Church in Peoria, a Missouri Synod sect, which believes in teaching creationism, that the bible is infallible and that believers will be "raptured" on the "Last Day." Perhaps if the Governor devoted less time pandering to the religious right, she would realize about 15% of her constituents are nonbelievers (American Religious Identification Survey 2008).

Please educate Governor Brewer about her obligation to abide by our secular constitution. It would also be helpful to make this the subject of a letter to the editor to Arizona papers. Please remember to keep messages short (under 150 words) and sign your name and address. For maximum effectiveness, respond as an individual and not as someone replying to this action alert.

Contact

The Honorable Jan Brewer
Office of the Governor
1700 West Washington-101A
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Toll Free 1(800) 253-0883
Fax: (602) 542-1381
azgov@az.gov

Media Contacts

The Arizona Republic
Letters to the Editor
P.O. Box 2244
Phoenix AZ 85002
E-mail Form

The Arizona Daily Star
P.O. Box 26807
Tucson AZ 85726-6807
letters@azstarnet.com

For more information, read Arizona Daily Star coverage.

Action Alert by Bonnie Gutsch