Texas governor Rick Perry, expected to enter the Republican race for the White House within weeks, offered a prayer for America on Saturday at a controversial religious rally that put the spotlight on his Christian faith.
Mr Perry, who has made his religious beliefs a big part of his public image, urged an enthusiastic crowd of more than 30,000 people at the seven-hour gathering to pray for President Barack Obama and other US leaders.
“Father, our heart breaks for America,” said the governor. “We see discord at home, we see fear in the marketplace, we see anger in the halls of government. As a nation, we have forgotten who made us.”
The event was called “The Response” and billed as a day of prayer for a nation in crisis.
It also gave Mr Perry a national platform to sharpen his appeal to religious conservatives who play a big role in the Republican nominating race and have been unhappy with the current crop of contenders.
Sponsors of the rally included the American Family Association, whose leaders have condemned gays and Muslims, and the International House of Prayer, founded by an evangelist who believes Oprah Winfrey is a pastor in a Satan-inspired religion.
It also drew prominent religious conservative leaders such as Focus on the Family head James Dobson and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.
Critics condemned the event for excluding non-Christian faiths and blurring the boundary between church and state, as well as affiliating with controversial fringe religious groups and leaders.
“Governor Perry achieved his goal today – he drove almost every religious right leader and group into his corral,” said Reverend Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Mr Perry is poised to enter the 2012 Republican presidential race in the next few weeks. He already has shot into the top tier of contenders in opinion polls.
At the rally in Houston’s cavernous 70,000-seat Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans professional football team, Perry discussed his faith, read scripture and said a prayer.
“We know the greatest darkness comes just before the morning,” he said in a 12-minute appearance, adding that God was wise enough to avoid affiliation with any political party.
“His agenda is not a political agenda. His agenda is a salvation agenda,” said Mr Perry.
Mr Perry closed the event by saying he hoped it would begin a national renewal and “our willingness to stand in the public square” would inspire others to seek God.
Participants said they were praying to heal a troubled nation and politics was not their concern. Many in attendance, who came in church buses from throughout the region, praised Mr Perry for leading the effort.
“He was brave enough to stand up and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to pray for the nation’. He’s the governor but he’s a Christian man,” said Lonnie Lavender, a pastor in Venus, Texas.
Eddie Ellis, a delivery service owner in Conroe, Texas, said Americans needed to wake up. “Perry is a politician but he says we’ve got to pray. He hits the right keys,” Mr Ellis said.