Texas Governor Draw Criticism on Player Event

       AUSTIN, Tex. — When Gov. Rick Perry invited fellow governors to join him on Aug. 6 for “a day of prayer and fasting on behalf of our troubled nation,” some speculated that he was trying to raise his national visibility for a possible presidential run.
Absolutely not, said Mr. Perry, a conservative Christian who described the event, to be held in a Houston stadium, as an “apolitical Christian prayer service” to provide “spiritual solutions to the many challenges we face in our communities, states and nation.”
Whatever the goals, his plan has drawn strong protests from advocates for the separation of church and state, who say an elected leader should not be leading what looks to be, in effect, an evangelical Christian revival. Gay rights groups are also objecting because Mr. Perry placed the event in the hands of conservative religious groups that not only oppose gay marriage but also stridently condemn homosexuality.
So far only one other governor, Sam Brownback of Kansas, who is a conservative Roman Catholic, has said
 he will attend.
A spokesman for Mr. Perry said that he was thinking about a presidential candidacy, as he was thinking about a number of other issues, but that he was focused now on the legislative session. However, the continuing buzz about his political future intensified on Thursday when two of his former aides suddenly became available after quitting the presidential campaign of Newt Gingrich.
Here in Texas, the governor’s announcement of the prayer event provoked predictable scorn from Democrats and praise from some Republicans. But all sides raised eyebrows, noting the timing of his announcement and of the event itself, which is to occur one week before the straw poll in Iowa.
“When I heard about it, it did surprise me,” said Bill Miller, a Texas political consultant and lobbyist who is a friend of Mr. Perry’s. “It indicated to me that he’s moving quickly in trying to establish a national prominence and becoming a national candidate.”
But Catherine Frazier, the governor’s spokeswoman, said the timing was coincidental.
“The governor thought of this back in December,” Ms. Frazier said. “It has nothing to do with politics. It is about coming together to pray for our nation.”
She emphasized that no public money would be used for the event, which is being paid for by the American Family Association, a conservative evangelical group based in Mississippi.
While the day of prayer will undoubtedly please many evangelicals — a powerful bloc in the Republican Party — it has provoked sharp criticism from other quarters, particularly because of its explicit evangelical Christian theme, which sets it apart from National Prayer Days and other events that normally include all faiths.
The Web site created for the event, which is called The Response, says the meeting “has adopted the American Family Association statement of faith,” including the infallibility of the Bible, the centrality of Jesus Christ and the eternal damnation that awaits nonbelievers.
“I have followed religion and politics closely for 35 years, and I have never seen a governor initiate and lead this kind of Christians-only prayer rally,” said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
In a letter to Mr. Perry, Mr. Lynn called on the governor to cancel the event, which he described as “a sectarian gathering that excludes millions of Americans.”
Similar concerns were voiced by other Washington groups, including the Secular Coalition for America, which represents atheists, and the Interfaith Alliance, which said Mr. Perry was misusing religion for political purposes.
Here in Texas, Kim Kamen, an executive with the American Jewish Committee, said the event felt exclusionary.
“There are many houses of worship here in Texas, not just Christian churches,” said Mrs. Kamen, who lives in Dallas. “As the leader of our state, we hope that he will bear that in mind.”
Mr. Perry rejected the accusations of exclusion. “It is Christian-centered, yes, but I have invited and welcome people of all faiths to attend,” he said in an e-mail on Friday.
David Lane, an evangelical political organizer from California who has gathered national support for the prayer day, said, “Nobody’s imposing anything on people of other faiths.”
The Human Rights Campaign in Washington, a gay rights organization, accused Mr. Perry of “aligning with groups that, on a daily basis, seek to demonize” gay and lesbian people.
Leaders of the American Family Association and of the International House of Prayer, a co-sponsor of the event, describe homosexuality as a moral blight. The family association, for example, links public acceptance of homosexuality to what it calls the “increasing ungodliness and depravity assaulting our nation.”
Mr. Perry brushed off the assertions against the organization.
“The A.F.A. is a group that promotes faith and strong families, and this event is about bringing Americans together in prayer,” he said in his e-mail, adding that “I have made it clear that I believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman.”