Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Constitutionality of NY Town's Public Prayers

The Christian Post ^ | November 4, 2013 | Michael Gryboski

[Center2Right]

The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on whether or not the sectarian prayers offered at a New York town's meetings are constitutional.

The highest court in the land will hear an appeal from a lower court decision regarding Greece, N.Y.'s practice of having explicitly Christian prayers open town meetings.

Known as Galloway v. Town of Greece, the lawsuit was filed by two residents of Greece who felt the sectarian prayers made them feel excluded from the public affairs of the town. Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens, the two plaintiffs, are being represented by the Washington, D.C.-based group Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AUSCS)............

[Olog-hai]

That phrase appears in the USSR’s constitution.

In order to ensure to citizens freedom of conscience, the church in the U.S.S.R. is separated from the state, and the school from the church. Freedom of religious worship and freedom of antireligious propaganda is recognized for all citizens.

— 1936 “Stalin Constitution”, Article 124

Citizens of the USSR are guaranteed freedom of conscience, that is, the right to profess or not to profess any religion, and to conduct religious worship or atheistic propaganda. Incitement of hostility or hatred on religious grounds is prohibited. In the USSR, the church is separated from the state, and the school from the church.

— 1977 constitution, Article 52

When that is pointed out to the liberals, they usually fall back on Jefferson’s 1801 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, which has the phrase “building a wall of separation between church and state”, the context being non-establishment of a single state religion at the federal level.

[GingisK]

That was very interesting! Thank you!