ACLJ's Position
History
The ACLJ opposes the relentless efforts by the ACLU and other liberal advocacy groups to remove prayer from the public arena in the name of the Establishment Clause. This Nation's founding fathers never contemplated a society in which any public prayer was viewed as anathema under the Constitution. From the inception of our Country, American Presidents have issued Thanksgiving Proclamations establishing a national day of celebration and prayer. President Washington issued the first such proclamation at the request of the First Congress, and "recommend[ed] and assign[ed]" a day "to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be," so that "we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue . . . ." (1) Successive Presidents followed suit, and the explicitly religious nature of these proclamations has not diminished, notwithstanding the increasing religious pluralism in our nation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt urged the Nation to engage in "reading of the Holy Scriptures during the period from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas" so that "we may bear more earnest witness to our gratitude to Almighty God." (2) Similarly, our Presidential inaugurations have traditionally opened and closed with prayers. Federal law directs the President to "set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year . . . as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals." (3)
The Judiciary has also historically invoked divine protection over its proceedings. All federal courts open sessions with the "prayer" that "God save the United States and this honorable Court." Congress has gone even further, employing legislative chaplains to offer prayers every day that Congress is in session, and also setting aside a special prayer room in the Capitol for use by Members of the House and Senate. The room is decorated with a large stained glass panel that depicts President Washington kneeling in prayer; around him is etched the first verse of the 16th Psalm: "Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust." Beneath the panel is a rostrum on which a Bible is placed; next to the rostrum is an American Flag. (4)
It is thus clear that public prayer is a vital part of our nation's heritage and our founding fathers would undoubtedly have been shocked at the notion that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment forbids such public prayers. The ACLJ is committed to restoring a proper understanding of the role public prayers play in the life of our nation.
So what are the rights of individuals and groups to pray in public places? Jay Sekulow reviews these rights in the following memo:
- Prayer and Religious Speech Protected Under 1st Amendment
- Establishment Clause Requires the Government to be Neutral Toward Religion; and Does Not Justify the Exclusion of Religious Speech
- Legislative Prayer Is a Permissible Acknowledgment of Widely Held Religious Beliefs in this Country
- The Rights of Students to Pray at School
- The Rights of Students to Pray at Graduation
The constitutional principle of Equal Access also allows individuals and groups to use government facilitities for prayer and worship on the same basis that other individuals and groups are given access.
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(1) 1 J. Richardson, A Compilation of Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789?1897, p. 64 (1899).
(2) Presidential Proclamation No. 2629, 58 Stat. 1160.
(3) 36 U.S.C. § 169h.
(4) See L. Aikman, We the People: The Story of the United States Capitol 122 (1978).