29 states oppose federal decision National Day of Prayer violates Constitution

 

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MONTGOMERY—GHN Ed- "This is a matter that strikes deep in the hearts of Alabama citizens," stated Attorney General Troy King from the State of Alabama, joining 29 others in support of the National Day of Prayer.

Attorney General Troy King is asking a federal Court of Appeals to affirm the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer and similar prayer proclamations that have traditionally been issued by presidents and governors throughout the history of the United States.

In April a federal district court in Wisconsin  that the National Day of Prayer violates the First Amendment's clause against the establishment of religion. 29 State Attorneys General responded with an amicus curiae brief filed by the State of Texas in Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Barack Obama, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to overturn the ruling by the lower court in Wisconsin.

 "In times of crisis, many find strength and comfort in knowing that their fellow citizens may join together in a formal day of prayer. Indeed, we have just exercised this right through a day of prayer for the Gulf Coast." He noted also that Alabama had officially joined in the 2010 National Day of Prayer that was observed on May 6.

Attorney General King declares, "The Wisconsin ruling threatens not only the National Day of Prayer and proclamations of prayer days by Alabama and other states, but also could call into question the federal law that set up Memorial Day. The language of that law asks the President to issue a proclamation "calling on the people of the United States to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace."

The brief of the Attorneys General asserts that "prayer has played a significant role in public life in America since before the Nation's founding." It recounts numerous examples, including phrases from the Declaration of Independence and routine prayer invocations to open proceedings of all three branches of government, and that "governmental bodies and officials have offered specific prayers both to celebrate times of national prosperity and to solemnize times of national grief."

There has been a history of setting aside a special time since the very beginnings of the United States, Attorney General King declares.  He argues that since the First Congress asked President George Washington to proclaim a day for public thanksgiving and prayer, virtually every President has done so in November. Not only are presidential and gubernatorial inaugurations, as well as legislative proceedings, traditionally opened with prayer, but so are the sessions of the Supreme Court itself and other federal and state courts.

This is similar to the arguments presented by the other states in support for maintaining the National Day of Prayer.

The Attorneys General state that one of the standards by which the Supreme Court judges the propriety of religious expressions is how long it has been practiced without any significant detrimental impact or disturbance. In upholding legislative prayer, the Court noted an "unambiguous and unbroken history of more than 200 years," and the constitutionality of a Ten Commandments monument at the Texas Capitol was noted for having stood unchallenged for 40 years. In light of this standard, the brief points out that presidential prayer proclamations have been made regularly since 1789, and that the National Day of Prayer has been proclaimed each year since 1952.

Furthermore, the Attorneys General note, the U.S. Supreme Court has previously referred specifically to the National Day of Prayer as an example of what is constitutionally permitted. In prior rulings about other issues of religious expression, the Court said the National Day of Prayer "does not require anyone to pray, of course, but it is a straightforward endorsement of the concept of turning to God in prayer," and that it is among the "generally accepted and constitutionally permissible acknowledgements of the role of religion in American life."