There are people out there who are atheists, who don't believe at all. Tom Prichard, head of the Minnesota Family Council, criticized the governor's move though and noted that even President Clinton had proclaimed a day of prayer for the citizenry. Ventura spokesman John Wodele replied to the MFC charges and defended the decision to not issue a proclamation supporting the National Day of Prayer. It's apples and oranges. The Rolling Stones don't have anything to do with religion.
Any proclamation is signed by the secretary of state and goes on the state record.
Ventura has issued 51 of the decrees dealing with other events or groups. Former Governor Arne Carlson, though had issued a proclamation on behalf of the National Day of Prayer in 1998. Ventura's decision could spell the beginning of trouble for the National Day of Prayer event. Although the NDOP Task Force says that the practice supposedly dates to 1795 when President George Washington declared a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, its real origins can be found in the cold war period of American history. Beginning in the late 1940s, a series of federal laws began melding religious mottos and oaths into the framework of government.