Jeremy Dys is deputy general counsel to First Liberty Institute, a non-profit law firm dedicated to defending religious freedom for all. Prayer at legislative gatherings is as old as the United States—perhaps older, if we reach back in time to the Pilgrims’ landing at Plymouth Rock. Legislative prayer is such a traditional part of who we are as a country, in fact, that it should be one of the least questionable topics of our day. That’s why some on Ohio’s Cleveland City Council would like to bring the practice back to its meetings. And the law supports them if they do. In fact, they should feel more confident than their opponents. Not only has the Supreme Court twice upheld the constitutionality of prayers before public meetings, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit—in which Cleveland sits—has also upheld the practice. In Jackson County, Michigan, lawmakers had a decades-old tradition of opening their meetings with a prayer, led by one of the elected members of the County Commission. Commissioners would rotate as prayer-giver every meeting, each praying, or not, according to their particular religious tradition. But then in 2013, a local activist claimed the prayers violated the establishment […]
