The Patriot Post® · Christian Prayers Constitutional

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that opening town council meetings with Christian prayers does not violate the Constitution, so long as officials make an effort at inclusion. The 5-4 ruling was a victory for Greece, New York, which was at the center of the case, but also for a fair and historical reading of the First Amendment. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority, “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.” Given that public prayer wasn’t considered a constitutional crisis by those who authored and signed it, we’d say this ruling got it right.