National Prayer Breakfast

== History ==
The origin of the National Prayer Breakfast is traced back to prayer groups with business and civic leaders in [[Seattle]], organized by [[Abraham Vereide]] in the 1930s. When he moved to Washington, DC, he established similar groups with members of Congress. In 1953, President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] attended a meeting by invitation of Congressmen, Vereide, and [[Billy Graham]]. Vereide's successor [[Douglas Coe]] and Rev. [[Richard C. Halverson]] have also carried leadership roles in organizing the event. A government leader was quoted as saying that the Breakfast and Coe's influence offers foreign leaders access to the President that "circumvents the [[State Department]] and usual vetting... that such a meeting would require," and other participants indicated that their purpose for attending was political.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lindsay |first=D. Michael |date=2006 |title=Is the National Prayer Breakfast Surrounded by a "Christian Mafia"? Religious Publicity and Secrecy within the Corridors of Power |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion|volume=74|issue=2|pages=390–419|issn=0002-7189|jstor=4094038|doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfj060|s2cid=145575486}}</ref>

Initially called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, the name was changed in 1970 to the National Prayer Breakfast. Every American president since [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] has participated in the annual event.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/todd-j-gillman/20130209-todd-j.-gillman-tylers-louie-gohmert-puts-obama-criticism-on-pause-at-national-prayer-breakfast.ece| title=Tyler's Louie Gohmert puts Obama criticism on pause at National Prayer Breakfast |newspaper=The Dallas Morning News |first=Todd J. |last=Gillman |date=February 9, 2013 |access-date=February 10, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://theconversation.com/national-prayer-breakfast-what-does-its-history-reveal-71978|title=National Prayer Breakfast: What does its history reveal?|last=Winston|first=Diane|date=February 1, 2017|website=The Conversation|language=en|access-date=2019-11-27}}</ref>