"Exploiting the church to pray for a government take-over of America's health care system, even if religious liberty is trampled, amply illustrates the Religious Left's current priorities." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President

Contact: Jeff Walton, Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell, jwalton@TheIRD.org

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- In response to a White House meeting in early March, Religious Left officials are set to launch a series of prayer vigils and other advocacy in support of Obamacare beginning this week.

Coinciding with arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Obamacare's constitutionality, the prayer vigil will center around the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill, which will host a "radio row" for pro-Obamacare broadcasts by sympathetic radio hosts.

According to The New York Times, about 100 pro-Obamacare activists representing 60 groups attended a White House meeting to plot pro-Obamacare advocacy during the Supreme Court hearing.

In addition to the vigil outside the U.S. Supreme Court vigil on March 26, other Religious Left advocacy actions for Obamacare this month include a "virtual party" by teleconference in which activists will share testimony about what Obamacare has personally meant to them. An interfaith prayer vigil will convene by conference call, and a "Health-care Justice Sabbath Observance" will meet in the Methodist Building's chapel.

Religious opposition to Obamacare has been widespread, especially criticism of abortion coverage through insurance exchanges and the recent mandate compelling religious employers to cover insurance for contraception, abortifacients and sterilization.

A Washington Post -- ABC News poll released Monday shows 41 percent of Americans support the health-care law, while 52 percent are opposed.

IRD President Mark Tooley commented:

"The old Methodist temperance crusaders who built the Methodist Building on Capitol Hill 90 years ago would be shocked that their work has been subsumed into Obamacare's assault on religious liberty, including the contraceptive/abortifacient mandate.

"Exploiting the church to pray for a government take-over of America's health care system, even if religious liberty is trampled, amply illustrates the Religious Left's current priorities. Its religion, as politically expressed, often seems to be less about faith and more about control, coercion, and capitulation to centralized authority by unelected secular elites.

"Americans who care about liberty and faith can pray that the Religious Left’s pro-Obamacare prayers will get divine answers very different from the requests."