Mr. President, last Thursday was designated as a National Day of Prayer. I began the day at a prayer breakfast with the people of Tangipahoa, LA, whose school board was recently the subject of a…
Mr. President, last Thursday was designated as a National Day of Prayer. I began the day at a prayer breakfast with the people of Tangipahoa, LA, whose school board was recently the subject of a Federal court ruling against prayer at board meetings.
This February 24 ruling, by U.S. District Court Judge Ginger Berrigan of New Orleans, was filed by an unnamed individual with the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union. The purpose of the lawsuit was to stop prayers at Tangipahoa Parish School Board meetings.
In her ruling against the school board, Judge Berrigan said:
[i]n officially promoting a religious practice at its
governmental meetings, the board is doing what its schools
and teachers cannot do, favor religion over non-religion and
endorse particular religious faiths.
If this ruling stands, school boards in other parts of Louisiana as well as school boards across the country could be subjected to similar lawsuits.
Many have joined me in criticizing this February 24 ruling, including the Democratic Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, who called for the school board to appeal the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. As stated by Governor Blanco:
I believe that such prayers are entirely appropriate,
constitutional, and in keeping with a practice in our nation
that dates back to the Continental Congress.
I could not agree more with that statement, and I am delighted that the school board on May 1, 2005 voted unanimously to appeal the district court's ruling.
To me, this February 24 ruling seems like another attempt by Federal courts to legislate from the bench--especially when you consider that other lawmaking bodies are allowed to hold prayer. Here in the Senate, we routinely open with a prayer, as does the U.S. House of Representatives and as do State legislatures across the Nation.
In 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court held, in the case of Marsh v. Chambers, that
the practice of opening legislative sessions with prayer has become part of the fabric of our society. To invoke divine guidance on a public body entrusted with making the laws is not a violation of the Establishment Clause, but rather is simply an acknowledgement of beliefs widely held among the American people, said the Court.
Voluntary prayer in elected bodies should not be limited to prayer in State legislatures and Congress. School boards are deliberative bodies of adults. They are similar to a legislature in that they are elected by the people, act in the public interest, and are open to the public for voluntary attendance.
And let's not forget that this Nation was founded on the principle of freedom of religion. Not freedom from religion but freedom of religion. The Framers intended that the U.S. Constitution would bar the Government from enacting any law that favors one religious denomination over another, not prevent any mention of religion or reference to God in civic dialogue. The Framers recognized that freedom to practice religion and to express religious thought is a fundamental and alienable right belonging to all Americans.
The ACLU, which backed this lawsuit against the school board, has criticized those of us who have called for the school board to appeal the district court ruling. I do not share the ACLU's opinion, and more importantly, the people of Louisiana do not share the ACLU's opinion.
It is a fact that Americans often turn to their elected officials for relief, especially after being rebuffed by courts. As stated by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service:
With regard to religious liberty, the origin and growth of
an individual's right to believe or not believe, and the
safeguarding of that right, have occurred almost entirely
outside the courtroom. The regular political process has
protected the religious freedom of minorities as well as and
often better than the courts.
In short, it is not unusual for Congress to advance religious liberty beyond what is available from the judiciary.
On April 29 I introduced a resolution, S. Res. 132, expressing the United States Senate's support for the practice of prayer at the beginning of school board meetings. U.S. Congressman Bobby Jindal has introduced a similar measure in the U.S. House of Representatives.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Coburn, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. DeMint for their cosponsorship of S. Res. 132. I urge my other colleagues to support this resolution, which recognizes that prayer before school board meetings is a protected act in accordance with fundamental principles upon which this Nation was founded.
