When Faith is a Stage Prop

Why Public Piety Rings Hollow Without Justice

By LONNIE KING

I’ve seen the memes. Maybe you have too. Members of Congress kneeling in prayer after passing the “One Big Beautiful Bill”—the OBBBA. Their heads bowed, hands clasped, post-vote solemnity hanging in the air like incense.

But I didn’t feel moved.

I felt sick.

Because if what’s in that bill is what I believe it to be—punitive toward the poor, generous toward the powerful, and reckless with human lives—then that prayer wasn’t an offering. It was a performance. And it wasn’t holy. It was hollow.

When Policy Is a Punch to the Gut

I won’t dissect every page of the bill, but let’s not pretend it was neutral. It reportedly slashed key safety nets, fast-tracked deportations with minimal oversight, and poured more money into the pockets of those already flush with wealth.

And yet, the lawmakers who advanced it paused afterward to kneel and pray in the chamber.

As if passing a deeply harmful bill could be spiritually sanitized by a few moments of bowed heads and solemn faces.

As if God was being summoned to co-sign it all.

What the Bible Actually Says About That Kind of Prayer

I try not to twist scripture to fit a worldview. I’ve seen too many Christians do that—and I know how damaging it can be.

But there’s a through-line in scripture that’s impossible to ignore: when prayer becomes performance, and when religion is used to mask injustice,

Your God isn’t impressed.

Consider just a few examples:

“When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you… Your hands are full of blood.”
Isaiah 1:15

“Even though you offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them… But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Amos 5:22, 24

“Do not be like the hypocrites. They love to pray standing in synagogues and on street corners to be seen by others.”
Matthew 6:5

This isn’t fringe theology. It’s a recurring theme. If prayer is used to polish an image or cover up injustice, God says He’s not listening.

When Religion Performs Instead of Repents

It wasn’t the act of prayer itself that unsettled me. It was the timing—the juxtaposition of a damaging vote followed immediately by a show of piety.

Not a confession. Not a lament. Just a photo-op faith moment, as if to say, “We’re on God’s side.”

Or perhaps, more accurately, “God is on OUR side.”

But your holy text says otherwise.

Prayer that ignores justice is noise. Worship that tramples the vulnerable is theater. And public piety used to whitewash harmful policy? That’s not faith—it’s propaganda.

This Isn’t About Left or Right. It’s About Right and Wrong.

I’m not claiming moral high ground for any political party. Both sides have their faults. But when lawmakers cite God or invoke prayer in the same breath they’re endorsing policies that hurt the poor, deport families, or gut healthcare access—I can’t stay silent. And, let’s be clear, only one political party is doing that.

The Bible doesn’t say, “Blessed are the strong.” It says, “Blessed are the merciful.”

It doesn’t say, “The rich shall inherit the earth.” It says, “The meek shall.”

It doesn’t say, “Perform for the cameras.” It says, “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.”

So What Do We Do with That?

I can’t stop lawmakers from praying after they vote. But I can ask hard questions. I can name what doesn’t feel right. I can listen to the still, small voice inside that says: God doesn’t need more rituals. God wants righteousness.

And maybe I can pray too.

But not the kind of prayer that asks for applause.

The kind that asks for wisdom. For courage. For justice that rolls like a river—not for prayers that drown out the cries of the people left behind.

Grace and grit to you!  — LK