The Hawaii State Senate has made it official, ending its practice of opening each day with a prayer, rather than adopt a new policy restricting invocations to non-sectarian expressions.
A citizen's complaint had prompted the American Civil Liberties Union last summer to send the Senate a letter noting that its invocations often referenced Jesus Christ, contravening the separation of church and state.
That prompted the state attorney general's office to advise the Senate that their handling of prayers — by inviting speakers from various religions to preach before every session — wouldn't survive a likely court challenge, said Democratic Majority Leader Brickwood Galuteria.
"Above all, our responsibility is to adhere to the Constitution," Galuteria said after Thursday's vote to halt the daily blessings.
The Supreme Court held legislative prayers to be acceptable in a 1983 case regarding the Nebraska state legislature, but emphasized in that case the non-sectarian nature of the prayers in question.
