Defending National Day of Prayer

By 

Nathanael Bennett

|
June 9, 2011

3 min read

American Heritage

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We are once again in federal court defending the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer.  This time representing members of Congress in a critically important amicus brief filed in a federal appeals court.  As you know, a federal district court in Wisconsin recently ruled in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundations claim that the National Day of Prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

This ruling is clearly flawed and out of step with more than 200 years of history, Supreme Court precedent, and multiple acts of Congress.

The case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.  We filed an amicus brief on behalf of 67 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate both Republican and Democrat.  We've also filed on behalf of thousands of members of the Committee to Protect the National Day of Prayer.  This brief clearly demonstrates that the district courts ruling should be overturned.

While it seems absurd that the National Day of Prayer could have been found unconstitutional in the first place, it is vital that the appeals court overturns this lower court decision. This is a case that is being followed closely and the ramifications of the outcome of this case will have dramatic ramifications - the future of the time-honored tradition of a national day to pray for our nation hangs in the balance.

Our brief includes a lengthy appendix detailing the robust history of prayer proclamations, including presidential proclamations dating back to George Washington.  Its also significant to note that James Madison, who authored the First Amendment that is at the center of this challenge, himself issued four similar proclamations of prayer.

You can read our amicus brief here.

History and the law are clearly on the side of the National Day of Prayer.  We will continue fighting to make sure that the courts recognize this fact. 

We're delighted to represent 67 members of Congress in this brief at the appeals court level.  We want to thank Rep. Randy Forbes of Virginia for taking the lead on this Congressional effort.  Rep. Forbes and Rep. Mike McIntyre of North Carolina co-chair the Congressional Prayer Caucus.  The complete oflist is posted in alphabetical order below:

Rep. Randy Forbes
 
Sen. Sam Brownback
 
Sen. James Inhofe
 
Sen. Mike Johanns
 
Sen. Roger Wicker
 
Rep. Robert Aderholt
 
Rep. Todd Akin
 
Rep. Rodney Alexander
 
Rep. Michelle Bachmann
 
Rep. Spencer Bachus
 
Rep. Gresham Barrett
 
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett
 
Rep. Rob Bishop
 
Rep. Marsha Blackburn
 
Rep. John Boehner
 
Rep. John Boozman
 
Rep. Kevin Brady
 
Rep. Paul Broun
 
Rep. Eric Cantor
 
Rep. Michael Conoway
 
Rep. Geoff Davis
 
Rep. Lincoln Davis
 
Rep. Mary Fallin
 
Rep. John Fleming
 
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry
 
Rep. Virginia Foxx
 
Rep. Trent Franks
 
Rep. Scott Garrett
 
Rep. Phil Gingrey
 
Rep. Louie Gohmert
 
Rep. Gregg Harper
 
Rep. Wally Herger
 
Rep. Pete Hoekstra
 
Rep. Bob Inglis
 
Rep. Walter Jones
 
Rep. Jim Jordan
 
Rep. Steve King
 
Rep. John Kline
 
Rep. Doug Lamborn
 
Rep. Robert Latta
 
Rep. Donald Manzullo
 
Rep. Kevin McCarthy
 
Rep. Michael McCaul
 
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter
 
Rep. Patrick McHenry
 
Rep. Mike McIntyre
 
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
 
Rep. Gary Miller
 
Rep. Jeff Miller
 
Rep. Jerry Moran
 
Rep. Sue Myrick
 
Rep. Randy Neugebauer
 
Rep. Pete Olson
 
Rep. Mike Pence
 
Rep. Joe Pitts
 
Rep. Ted Poe
 
Rep. Tom Price
 
Rep. Phil Roe
 
Rep. Jean Schmidt
 
Rep. Heath Shuler
 
Rep. Adrian Smith
 
Rep. Lamar Smith
 
Rep. Glenn Thompson
 
Rep. Todd Tiahrt
 
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland
 
Rep. Joe Wilson
 
Rep. Frank Wolf