Monday, May 5, 2014

"Supreme Court Allows Prayers at Town Meetings" (Melissa Kurtzman, 5th Period)

Summary: On Monday, the Supreme Court upheld a decision stating that Greece, NY is allowed to open their town meetings with a prayer by a "chaplain of the month". It was a 5-4 ruling and made people many upset because they said it violated people's First Amendment rights since most of the chaplains have been Christian. Two town residents had sued, claiming that these prayers went against the First Amendment that outlawed government establishment of religion. The plaintiffs said that they were forced to listen to these mostly sectarian prayers in order to participate in town government.

Analysis: Personally, I am not a fan of the ruling in this case. While the town government claims that anyone can lead the prayer, it has been noted that almost all of them have been Christian. Being a religious minority, I would definitely be upset if this happened in my town. Local governments are important but citizens shouldn't have to pray in order to participate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/nyregion/supreme-court-allows-prayers-at-town-meetings.html?hp&_r=0

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