(CNSNews.com) – Two top evangelical leaders sounded a defiant tone on the eve of National Day of Prayer -- warning that the American right to freedom of religion “is being eroded every day” and may be lost in an onslaught of secularism unless Americans “have the guts to stand up.”

The Rev. Franklin Graham, who last month was officially “dis-invited” by the Army to speak at a National Day of Prayer ceremony at the Pentagon for statements he made about Islam, said he will not back down in preaching the Gospel as he sees it...

WASHINGTON -- Evangelist Franklin Graham prayed on a sidewalk outside the Pentagon Thursday after his invitation to a prayer service inside was withdrawn because of comments that insulted people of other religions.

Graham's invitation to attend an event inside the Defense Department for national prayer day was withdrawn two weeks ago...

(CNSNews.com) – A conservative Republican congressman from Georgia is calling for congressional hearings to investigate actions by the U.S. military in recent weeks to cancel or rescind invitations that had been made to two prominent conservative Christian leaders -- Franklin Graham and Tony Perkins -- to speak at military prayer events.

“I think that we need to have some hearings on this because this seems to be something that the military is spending some energy on and we need to raise the visibility on it,” Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) told CNSNews.com.

Last week, the Army “disinvited” Franklin Graham, the well-known son of the Rev. Billy Graham, to speak at the Pentagon on May 6 -- the National Day of Prayer -- after a military advocacy group objected that Graham had characterized Islam after the 9/11 attacks as “evil” and “wicked.”...

Evangelist Franklin Graham is calling on people of faith to pray for President Obama and his advisors in the wake of Graham's rejection as a speaker at the Pentagon early next month. One Pentagon advisor says that rejection wouldn't have happened while George W. Bush was in the White House.

Last week, after the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups complained about statements Graham had made about Islam, the Army announced he was no longer invited to be the lead speaker at a May 6 Pentagon service held in conjunctions with the National Day of Prayer. His earlier comments about the Muslim faith were "not appropriate," stated an Army spokesman...

Sarah Palin on Sunday dined and prayed with the Rev. Billy Graham, who has counseled presidents and other politicians for decades.

Graham had never met Palin, who is scheduled to stop at Fort Bragg in eastern North Carolina on Monday to promote her memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life." The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and members of her family flew into Asheville in the western part of the state, then went to Graham's mountaintop home in nearby Montreat for dinner...