Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Court rules House can bar secular prayer from atheist

A D.C. federal appeals court ruled Friday that the House of Representatives does not have to allow a self-described atheist to deliver secular prayers.

The Good Friday ruling concerned efforts by Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, to pray in the House chamber as a guest chaplain -- only to be turned down by Father Patrick Conroy, the House chaplain.

The court, however, sided with Conroy in determining the House was in its right to require prayers be religious in nature.

“We could not order Conroy to allow Barker to deliver a secular invocation because the House permissibly limits the opening prayer to religious prayer. Barker has therefore failed to state a claim for which relief can be granted,” the opinion stated.

Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution declares that both the House and Senate “may determine the rules of its proceedings.”

More

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/court-rules-house-of-representatives-can-bar-secular-prayer-from-atheist

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice. Someone give the Satanists a call, there is a house that needs some praying done... and since they have a deity to pray to, they must be allowed.

What silliness, a secular invocation would be. Unless the spoke words are for a deity, how could they hold any value, what were these silly atheist thinking?

It's almost like there is a tyrannical oppressive religious majority running things.

So happy in their infinite wisdom that the Satanists aren't excluded..got to go... off to call Lucian Greaves and let him know that the House needs him.