The Supreme Court has upheld the right of local officials to open town council meetings with prayer, ruling that these do not violate the Constitution even if they routinely stress Christianity. The court said in 5-4 decision Monday that the content of the prayers is not critical as long as officials make a good-faith effort at inclusion. The ruling was a victory for the town of Greece, N.Y., outside of Rochester. The prayer opportunity is evaluated against the backdrop of a historical practice showing that prayer has become part of the Nations heritage and tradition, the majority wrote in the opinion. It is presumed that the reasonable observer is acquainted with this tradition and understands that its purposes are to lend gravity to public proceedings and to acknowledge the place religion holds in the lives of many private citizens. The majority justices further argued that the intended audience is not the public, but the lawmakers themselves. In 1983, the court upheld an opening prayer in the Nebraska legislature and said that prayer is part of the nations fabric, not a violation of the First Amendment. Mondays ruling was consistent with the earlier one. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said the prayers are ceremonial and in keeping with the nations traditions. The inclusion of a brief, ceremonial prayer as part of a larger exercise in civic recognition suggests that its purpose and effect are to acknowledge religious leaders and the institutions they represent, rather than to exclude or coerce nonbelievers, Kennedy said. Justice Elena Kagan, in a dissent for the courts four liberal justices, said the case differs significantly from the 1983 decision because Greeces town meetings involve participation by ordinary citizens, and the invocations given -- directly to those citizens -- were predominantly sectarian in content. A federal appeals court in New York ruled that Greece violated the Constitution by opening nearly every meeting over an 11-year span with prayers that stressed Christianity. Mars Hill Network Seriously Christian and Ministering Life 800 677-1881 marshillnetwork.org
Posted on: Mon, 05 May 2014 15:02:23 +0000
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