HOUSTON (Reuters) - 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.
Perry, who has made his religious beliefs a big part of his public image, urged an enthusiastic crowd at the seven-hour gathering to pray for President Barack Obama and other U.S. leaders.
"Father, our heart breaks for America," said Perry, who hatched the idea for the rally and brushed off heavy criticism for participating.
"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," Perry said in a prayer offered to a crowd estimated by organizers at more than 30,000 people.
The event was named "The Response" and billed as a day of prayer for a nation in crisis. It also gave 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 warns celebrity 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.
Perry, who has made his religious beliefs a big part of his public image, urged an enthusiastic crowd at the seven-hour gathering to pray for President Barack Obama and other U.S. leaders.
"Father, our heart breaks for America," said Perry, who hatched the idea for the rally and brushed off heavy criticism for participating.
"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," Perry said in a prayer offered to a crowd estimated by organizers at more than 30,000 people.
The event was named "The Response" and billed as a day of prayer for a nation in crisis. It also gave 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 warns celebrity 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.