Americans United for Separation of Church and State today criticized Gov. Sam Brownback for his promotion of a fundamentalist Christian evangelistic event. Brownback has declared Dec. 8 to be a “Day of Restoration” and called on Americans to “collectively repent of distancing ourselves from God and ask for His mercy on us.” The proclamation promotes ReignDown USA, a group that plans to hold a nationally simulcast evangelistic event that day in in Topeka, Kan. Said Vickie Sandell Stangl, president of the Great Plains Chapter of Americans United, “The governor is really overstepping his constitutional bounds. He was elected to serve as governor of our state, not our state pastor-in-chief. “The people of Kansas do not need politicians telling us when, how or whether to pray,” Stangl continued. “If anybody needs to repent, it’s Gov. Brownback. He needs to repent for violating the constitutional separation of church and state.” Stangl said that Brownback’s promotion of the event is a reminder of his long-standing ties to some of the most extreme elements of the Religious Right. Leaders of the fundamentalist movement want to tear down the wall of separation between religion and government and impose their religious viewpoint on all Americans. Said Stangl, “The event Saturday is as much about politics as it is about religion. These folks want government leaders to adopt their religious vision and impose it on us all. That’s fundamentally wrong. “The governor’s action,” she continued, “goes far beyond the generic proclamations of prayer days that many public officials issue. This is an explicit endorsement of an extreme religious-political movement. It’s appalling.”