The US Supreme Court has allowed a New York town to start its public meetings with prayers, mostly of the Christian faith, in an order slammed as discriminatory by minorities.
Divided along ideological lines in a five-four decision, the court found the practice ceremonial and not consequential enough to make members of other faiths feel unwanted or unwelcome.
But dissenting judges—the liberals—said the practice violated the constitution’s promise of granting equal share of the government to every US citizen, irrespective of faith.
Writing for them, Justice Elia Kagan said, ”[O]ur public institutions belong no less to the Buddhist or Hindu than to the Methodist or Episcopalian.”
“Unfortunately, this decision may open the door to government sanctioned sectarian prayers,” said Harsh Voruganti of the Hindu American Foundation.
Greece town of New York state started the practice of opening its board meetings with prayers about 15 years ago.
The town did invite “a Jewish layman and the chairman of the local Baha’i temple to deliver prayers,” but a federal court ruled that they had not done enough.
According to a recent survey, Christians comprise around 78 percent of the US population. The rest are minorities, including people of Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu faiths.
While Evangelical Christians, and politicians welcome the decision, atheists, humanists, secularists and Hindu and Jewish groups said they were disappointed.
Greg Lipper, a lawyer with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, agreed, saying, “It definitely increases the leeway of local boards to impose majority religion.”
Greece town officials had argued that members of other faiths and atheists, were welcome to open its public meetings. But, it rarely happened in practice.
Two residents, Susan Galloway, who is Jewish, and Linda Stephens, an atheist, challenged the town, saying in their lawsuit that the practice made them uncomfortable.
But the court over-ruled them.
“Ceremonial prayer is but a recognition that, since this nation was founded and until the present day, many Americans deem that their own existence must be understood by precepts far beyond that authority of government to alter or define,” wrote justice Anthony M Kennedy for the majority decision.
Thought process of the students and their teachers are both vital and central for the long whole and success in that perspective. It is induced and engrossed for the purification of the heart and inner self which soul
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