Christian legal experts are responding to efforts by "secularist" groups to stop invocations at public meetings in both Ohio and Wisconsin.
The American Civil Liberties Union is demanding that the Greenfield, Ohio, City Council stop opening its meetings with prayer. The Wisconsin State Legislature has received a similar demand from the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Mike Johnson is senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which has written both government entities to assure them of the legality of opening prayers. "Prayer before public meetings is one of our oldest and most cherished American traditions," Johnson explains. "And it's truly sad that some radical, secularist groups are trying to eliminate the practice." Johnson says groups like Freedom from Religion and the ACLU have successfully intimidated many public officials into believing that officially acknowledging religion is illegal. "The First Amendment allows public officials -- and not the ACLU and its allies -- to decide what is appropriate for acknowledging our nation's religious history and heritage," he points out. And that heritage, Johnson explained, is recognized, both historically and legally, by the nation's high court, which has ruled opening invocations are lawful provided they comply with certain conditions. "The practice of opening public meetings with a prayer is deeply imbedded in the history and tradition of this country, according to the U.S. Supreme Court," says Johnson. "It's a tradition that, literally, began with the first Congress -- and there's no need to get rid of that tradition today just because the ACLU is offended by it." The attorney encourages public officials who want to know how to protect themselves from the ACLU and similar groups to visit ADF's website.
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