Victory! Supreme Court rules 5-4 "Jesus Prayers" are OK - Pray In Jesus Name

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Victory! Supreme Court rules 5-4 “Jesus Prayers” are OK

Hallelujah! Today YOU helped score a VICTORY at the U.S. Supreme Court, reaching the pinnacle of seven years of work and prayer with The Pray In Jesus Name Project.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that it’s OK for pastors to pray “in Jesus’ name” at city council meetings. Five opinions were written in Greece v. Galloway, with three supporting opinions and two opposing.

Justice Kennedy wrote for the majority (joined by Roberts and Alito), ruling:

“The town of Greece does not violate the First Amendment by opening its meetings with prayer that comports with our tradition, and does not coerce participation by nonadherents.”

“To hold that invocations must be nonsectarian would force the legislatures that sponsor prayers and the courts that are asked to decide these cases to act as supervisors and censors of religious speech,” Kennedy wrote. [Read all the opinions here.]

In other words, the First Amendment clearly protects the right to pray “in Jesus’ name.”

A concurring opinion by Justices Thomas and Scalia went further, declaring the government does not coerce others to pray simply by allowing freedom of speech. They argued a ‘coercion’ test would be satisfied “only if a local government had actually compelled people to be followers of one faith, such as requiring people to go to religious services or to pay taxes to pay for religious institutions,” reports SCOTUS blog.

The four liberal justices tried but failed to ban Jesus prayers, but complained nonetheless.

Justice Kagan wrote for the minority: “even in a partly legislative body, [citizens] should not confront government-sponsored worship that divides them along religious lines.” Kagan was predictably joined by Sotomayor and Ginsburg. Justice Breyer wrote his own dissenting opinion.

Justice Alito corrected the facts in Kagan’s dissent in a fifth opinion, saying “when complaints were received, the town made it clear that it would permit any interested residents, including nonbelievers, to provide an invocation, and the town has never refused a request to offer an invocation.”

[Dr. Chaps’ comments: I’ve said all along, people from all faiths can freely take turns.

In 2006 I faxed the Greece Town Supervisor John Auberger, inviting him to hire the Christian lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom, which he did. Those lawyers won the argument. YOU helped defend freedom today.

But military chaplains are not directly affected by this ruling, just yet. Anti-Jesus complainers will ignore this ruling, and continue to hound military chaplains who pray in Jesus’ name, until we get a positive law passed by Congress.]

Let’s keep petitioning Congress to restore freedom for military chaplains:

Military stands with Jesus at National Day of Prayer

Today, May 1st, is the National Day of Prayer. To find an event in your city, select here.

Thankfully, the Department of Defense is allowing uniformed soldiers to attend the National Day of Prayer events in Washington DC, ignoring ridiculous complaints by anti-Christian groups that soldiers are not allowed to express their Christian faith while in uniform.

“The U.S. military has no plans to back out of a National Day of Prayer event after being urged by a prominent activist group to withdraw,” reports ChristianNews.net.

“Mikey Weinstein, the president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, recently sent a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, asking that the Department of Defense distance itself from next month’s observance in Washington. Weinstein said that military participation in the event would suggest the government endorsement of Christianity.”

Weinstein also demanded Christians be punished if they pray in uniform.

He “respectfully demands that [Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel] aggressively investigate and appropriately punish any of the individuals and/or organizations that would have allowed for uniformed personnel to participate in this sectarian spectacle.”

Watch! Dr. Chaps’ 7-minute TV commentary on why the military is allowing Christian soldiers to participate in the Day of Prayer–>

Punish soldiers or even chaplains if they dare to express their Christian faith, or attend a Christian-led prayer event? No way.

Thankfully, the Pentagon is once again ignoring the anti-Christian complainers.

“According to Stars & Stripes, the military has no plans to withdraw from the gathering, which has been observed annually via the National Day of Prayer Task Force for over the past two decades.”

[Dr. Chaps’ comment: Every soldier, especially Christian soldiers, should have the same First Amendment rights that minority faiths have. Nobody complains when Muslims pray to Allah. But when Christians pray publicly in Jesus’ name, the demons howls like lunatics, and so do some people.]

Let’s petition Congress to protect military chaplains who pray “in Jesus’ name.”

Jesus wins? Oral arguments at Supreme Court. Chaps predicts 6-3 decision.

I am amazed and relieved. I just read all of October’s oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court today in the case of Greece vs. Galloway. I am almost giddy. I think we’re about to make history in favor of the right to pray in Jesus’ name in government forums.

I hereby predict the court will rule 6-3 in favor of Jesus prayers, announcing next July.

By the tone and tenor of the questioning, it is quite clear that all five Republican-appointed Justices Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and Kennedy (with Thomas silent) did affirm and will rule in favor of the right to pray in Jesus’ name, even at city council meetings.

A sixth Democrat-appointed Justice Breyer asked questions implying he favors allowing Jesus prayers, applying the same standard for legislative prayers in all city councils and state legislatures that is currently used by the U.S. Congress, which allows diversity.

The court’s three female Democrat-appointed Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan however, initially appear to oppose Jesus prayers in their questioning.

Here is a link to the full text of the oral arguments. Lawyers Hungar and Gershengorn argued in favor of allowing pastors to pray “in Jesus’ name” when giving the invocation before city council meetings.

The anti-Jesus lawyer Laylock argued against allowing Jesus prayers, and directly asked the government to censor the word Jesus Christ from prayers. Read in particular pages 24-25, 40-41, and 51-52. The Justices cracked jokes about allowing atheist prayers.

The bottom line was summarized by Justice Kagan, who may yet surprise me and make this a 7-2 decision. Here’s her quote.

JUSTICE KAGAN: All hypotheticals aside, isn’t the question mostly here in most communities whether the kind of language that I began with, which refers repeatedly to Jesus Christ, which is language that is accepted and admired and incredibly important to the majority members of a community, but is not accepted by a minority, whether that language will be allowed in a public town session like this one. That’s really the question, isn’t it?

MR. LAYCOCK: That’s the issue that actually arises in the case.

JUSTICE KAGAN: That’s the issue that actually arises. Here’s what — I don’t think that this is an easy question. I think it’s hard, because of this. I think it’s hard because the Court lays down these rules and everybody thinks that the Court is being hostile to religion and people get unhappy and angry and agitated in various kinds of ways.

JUSTICE KENNEDY: It just seems to me that enforcing that standard and the standard I suggested involves the State very heavily in the censorship and – and the approval or disapproval of prayers.

[Dr. Chaps’ comment: Bingo. Kennedy nailed it. The anti-Jesus complainers are demanding state censorship of citizens’ speech and prayer content. That violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Ballgame. We will win, God willing.]

Now let’s demand Congress restore religious freedom for military chaplains and troops:

God Bless you, in Jesus’ name,

Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, PhD
Who is Dr. Chaps? Read bio here.

Prefer to donate by mail? Please write: The Pray In Jesus Name Project, PO Box 77077, Colorado Springs, CO 80970.

About Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt