WASHINGTON (RNS) The Family Research Council, the conservative Christian group that’s best known for its efforts to shape public policy, is spearheading a call for churches to pray for the nation on the day after Independence Day.

“I think increasingly there’s an awareness that there is a problem in America that is not political at its heart but rather it’s a spiritual problem,” said FRC President Tony Perkins on Tuesday (May 19).

“And it’s incumbent upon the church … to assume the responsibility for where the nation is and leading us forward.”

Organizers hope the initiative, named “Call 2 Fall,” will involve tens of thousands of churches, with people praying on their knees for at least “three to five minutes,” Perkins said.

Although Family Research Council is usually a critic of the Obama administration’s policies, those spearheading the event say it is not focused on the new president.

“This is not an anti-Obama or anti-administration movement,” said Pastor Larry Stockstill of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, La. Rather, he said, it is a call for church leaders and members to repent.

“We know the problem lies in us and not in anyone else’s issues or policies or persuasion,” he said. “We are therefore bringing ourselves to God and asking for his mercy upon us.”

But in an e-mailed message to supporters, Perkins said the focus of the day will be on “praying that God would turn our hearts — and the hearts of our political leaders — toward him … and restore respect for life, marriage, and faith in the halls of power.”