PBS Reports on Legislative Prayer Case

Written by Don Byrd
PBS’ Religion and Ethics Newsweekly takes a look at the upcoming Supreme Court case regarding legislative prayer, Town of Greece v. Galloway. The video is here. As correspondent Tim O’Brien notes in the piece, the actual outcome of the case may not matter as much as the scope of the court’s reasoning.

BJC Urges Supreme Court to Reject Official Prayer at Local Government Meeting

Written by Don Byrd
The Baptist Joint Committee yesterday filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging the court to find unconstitutional official prayer at local government meetings. While the Supreme Court has previously found legislative prayer constitutional in the context of state legislatures, the BJC argues the dynamics of local government meetings are significantly different and should lead to a different outcome.

Here are some highlights from the brief…

Are Legislative Prayers at the Local Level Different?

Written by Don Byrd
In advance of the Supreme Court oral argument in the case of Town of Greece v. Galloway, the Baptist Joint Committee’s Nan Futrell explains why legislative prayer at the local level is different from congressional or state legislative prayer. The Supreme Court in Marsh upheld legislative prayers in certain conditions and settings. Do the unique elements of local government meetings warrant a different outcome?

LATimes Weighs In On Government Prayer

Written by Don Byrd
The editorial board of the Los Angeles Times urges the Supreme Court to rule government prayer practices unconstitutional in an op-ed this morning. Specifically, they respond to the amicus brief of the United States Government, which argues the prayers must be allowed because judges shouldn’t be “in the business” determining sectarian from non-sectarian prayers.

Read the whole thing, but here’s a snippet.