Does beginning a legislative session with a prayer violate the separation of church and state by endorsing one religion over another? That’s the question being asked in Galloway v. Greece, a case that is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.\u00a0 According to Legal Times<\/a>, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on the case. In Galloway v. Greece,\u00a0 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in 2012 that the opening prayer conducted\u00a0at the beginning of town meetings in Greece, New York, \u00a0were unconstitutional endorsements of Christianity.\u00a0 The ruling could shape the interpretation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.<\/p>\n A bit of background on the case, according to the Oyez Project:<\/a><\/p>\n The town of Greece, New York, is governed by a five-member town board that conducts official business at monthly public meetings. Starting in 1999, the town meetings began with a prayer given by an invited member of the local clergy. The town did not adopt any policy regarding who may lead the prayer or its content, but in practice, Christian clergy members delivered the vast majority of the prayers at the town\u2019s invitation. In 2007, Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens complained about the town\u2019s prayer practices, after which there was some increase in the denominations represented.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n While the case focuses on the “legislative prayer” practices of one small town, it has drawn the interest of members of Congress, whose sessions also begin with\u00a0a prayer.\u00a0According to Legal Times:<\/p>\n In two amicus briefs filed this week, 34 (mostly) Republican senators and 85 (mostly) Republican representatives are urging the justices to allow the House and Senate to start their daily sessions with prayers that, as one brief puts it, seek “God’s blessing and guidance in making consequential decisions.”<\/p>\n The Senate brief argues that the Second Circuit decision threatens a tradition of appointing legislative chaplains and solemnizing legislative sessions with prayer that dates to the nation’s founding.<\/p>\n “The work of the Senate is often divisive. But for a few moments each morning, politics and party are set aside,” the Senate brief reads. “Instead of debate, senators reflect on their duty to represent every constituent, mindful of the Nation’s core values and their need for divine assistance in carrying out their responsibilities.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The lower court’s ruling against the town’s prayer policy stated that\u00a0“a given legislative prayer practice, viewed in its entirety, may not advance a single religious sect.”<\/p>\n The Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a lawsuit on behalf of two community residents, Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens, arguing that the clergy invited to open its meetings with sectarian prayers have been almost always Christian.<\/p>\n Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, said in a statement in May that “government can’t serve everyone in the community when it endorses one faith over others. That sends the clear message that some are second-class citizens based on what they believe about religion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I’m hoping that the Supreme Court will side with Americans United for Separation of Church and State by upholding the lower court’s decision against legislative prayer. But I know, from personal observation, that this is a very sticky and divisive subject. In the 1980s, a woman I knew was elected mayor of the small municipality where I lived. At the first city council meeting she presided over, she announced–without consulting anyone in advance–that the council would no longer begin its sessions with a prayer. I applauded her decision, as the legislative prayer that city council traditionally used concluded with the words, “In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.” It was an obvious endorsement of religion in general, and Christianity\u00a0 in specific. But the new mayor’s anti-prayer policy enraged the council, and fatally undermined her ability to convince the city council to adopt any of her policies.<\/p>\n