Written by Don Byrd
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) last week proposed the “Freedom to Pray Act,” a bill that “would prohibit the federal government from withholding or revoking funds to programs whose participants engage in voluntary religious activities.” The proposal is in response to a dispute over a youth program administered by the Bossier Parrish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. The program involves some element of prayer and oath to God and had been funded in part by a Department of Justice grant, administered through the state’s Commission on Law Enforcement.
Following a request to remove the religious content of the program, which the Sheriff’s Office refused, the funding was revoked. Whether the DOJ or the state commission made the request and removed the funds is currently a matter of debate . But Senator Landrieu believes this bill is the answer. It’s certainly hard to be against the title of the Freedom to Pray Act, right? But if federal funds are being used to support programs that require prayer (whether that is the case here is unclear), that funding should be reconsidered.
You can read the text of the bill here. It emphasizes the religious activity covered must be “voluntary and initiated by participants.” But is that the kind of religious activity at issue in the Bossier Parrish program? Stay tuned. The Liberty Institute has demanded that the funding be restored.
