ACLJ Defends School Board’s Right To Open Meetings With Prayer

Prayer is under attack again, and the ACLJ is fighting back. This time, a local school board has been told to stop praying before its meetings.

On behalf of the school board, the ACLJ has responded to a letter from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which erroneously argues that the inclusion of prayer at these meetings violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It does not. This is just another example of the use of intimidation tactics to force a flawed view of the Constitution on society and an attempt to eradicate prayer from public life.

In our response on behalf of the school board to Americans United for Separation of Church and State, we explain that prayer at legislative meetings has deep historical roots in this country. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that opening public meetings with prayer is not only constitutional but also consistent with the traditions of our nation. The Court recognized that such invocations serve a legitimate purpose in solemnizing public proceedings and are protected by the First Amendment.

While Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asserted that school board prayer is newer and distinct from legislative prayer, courts disagree. The school board is a governing body that exists to legislate. In one of the only appellate cases to consider the constitutionality of school board prayer following Town of Greece v. Galloway (a case in which the ACLJ filed an important amicus brief, the Fifth Circuit upheld the practice as constitutional, noting that the practice of opening prayers at school board meetings dates back to the early 19th century.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State seeks to weaponize the First Amendment against the school board. What’s really at stake here is whether local communities are allowed to honor their traditions. The school board has done nothing wrong – they are simply following a practice identical to that of our Founding Fathers, who enacted the First Amendment. The First Amendment does not require public bodies to scrub every reference to faith from the public square. It protects religious freedom – including the freedom to pray.

The ACLJ will vigorously defend the school board’s constitutional rights. Please join us in prayer and support as we stand for religious liberty and the constitutional rights of local governments and their communities.

Stay informed and join our fight – because your freedoms are worth defending.