November 13, 2007
For 189 years, the Indiana House has opened each meeting day with prayer. State representatives nominate religious leaders of various faiths to speak by submitting a "Minister of the Day" form, which specifies the individual's availability. Although persons identifying themselves as representing a Christian church offered most of the prayers during the 2005 legislative session, a Muslim imam, a Jewish rabbi, a layperson, and some of the legislators themselves also offered prayers of their respective faiths.
All of this changed when four Indiana citizens, represented by the state branch of the ACLU, brought a lawsuit against Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma, objecting to what they called the "sectarian" prayers offered in the chamber.
In a development that would surely dismay our Founding Fathers, a U.S. District Court judge agreed with the complaints and ruled that future prayers in the Indiana Legislature must be "non-sectarian." In other words, when you cut through pages of legal argument, the name of Jesus was forbidden.
But praise the Lord – the name of Jesus is once more permitted at the Hoosier Capitol.
ADF and the Family Research Council filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case when it was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. The appellate court reversed, ruling that the plaintiffs did not have a legal injury that would permit them to sue in federal court.
"The custom of our Founding Fathers to open meetings with prayer continues to this day," said ADF Senior Counsel Glen Lavy.
"Those who oppose Christian invocations are essentially saying that the Founders were violating the Constitution as they were writing it.
People of all religions have an equal opportunity to offer prayer before Indiana legislative sessions."
The ruling issued by the 7th Circuit in the case can be read at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/BosmaDecision.pdf.
This is a strong victory for citizens of faith across the nation, but the threat still exists. The court left a window open for a future lawsuit, so we must remain vigilant. Attacks on people of faith will certainly continue . . . but together we can continue to meet those attacks in the courtroom – and win!