Public Meeting Prayer Battles Wage Nationwide


by Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent

WASHINGTON D.C. (Worthy News)– Before many towns meetings begin, local lawmakers often lead a short prayer prior to the start of official business, but some citizens are taking issue with those prayers: at least five lawsuits nationwide, from Florida to California, are currently challenging pre-meeting prayers.

Although not every complaint goes all the way to court, when it does, courts can have difficulty trying to define what is the acceptable way to pray in public; some lawyers think the issue will again go back to the U.S. Supreme Court, which previously declined to hear it.

Lawmakers who defend these prayers cite the nation’s founders, claiming to continue the established tradition of prayer before public meetings, but citizens who are uncomfortable with that tradition claim any prayer before a town meeting is bad mix of religion and politics.

Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder of the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, said her organization is receiving more complaints about pre-meeting prayers. In response, FFRF mails missives urging lawmakers to discontinue the prayers; the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State send similar warnings.

Brett Harvey, a lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said liberal groups are making a coordinated attempt to intimidate local governments into abandoning pre-meeting prayers, often threatening expensive litigation that many towns simply can’t afford.

“It’s really kind of a campaign of fear and disinformation,” he said.

Back in 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court had approved prayer before legislative meetings, ruling it didn’t violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause that prohibits the government from officially sanctioning any one religion.

However, as the Court didn’t define any boundaries for this type of prayer, courts today often disagree on what prayer is and isn’t permissible before public meetings.

17
people are currently praying.

💡 Did you know? One of the best ways you can support Worthy News is by simply leaving a comment and sharing this article.

📢 Social media algorithms push content further when there’s more engagement — so every 👍 like, 💬 comment, and 🔄 share helps more people discover the truth. 🙌

Latest Worthy News

Russia and China Move Ahead With Power of Siberia-2 Pipeline, But Beijing Holds the Cards
Xi Jinping Pushes for New Global Order at SCO Summit Alongside Putin and Modi
Federal Judge Rules Trump Violated Posse Comitatus Act in California Troop Deployment
Indonesian Diplomat Shot Dead in Peru as Protests at Home Leave 10 Dead
Xi, Putin, Modi Unite Against West At Shanghai Summit; Erdogan Urges Ukraine Peace
Iran Arrests 53 Christians On Espionage Charges; Rights Groups Call It Persecution
Maduro Threatens Armed Resistance as U.S. Expands Naval Deployment in Caribbean
U.S. Approves $825 Million Missile Sale to Ukraine Amid Intensified Russian Strikes
Coast Guard Announces Largest Drug Seizure in U.S. History
Fair Use Notice:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Worthy Christian News