http://www.postandcourier.com/20160716/160719535/letter-matter-of-prayer
A July 8 article reports that Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Charleston, sent a letter signed by 50 legislators to Berkeley County School Board members, saying the board should be allowed to continue reciting the Lord’s Prayer at public meetings. One board member referred to a suggested alternative moment of silence as “a moment of censorship.”There is no such censorship. Our First Amendment guarantees the right of individuals to pray to whomever whenever they please, but our government must not endorse or favor one religion over another, or religion over non-religion. The Berkeley County School Board is a governmental body. Sen. Grooms is also chair of the state Legislative Prayer Caucus, whose goal is to stress “the importance of prayer for our state.”
A July 8 article reports that Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Charleston, sent a letter signed by 50 legislators to Berkeley County School Board members, saying the board should be allowed to continue reciting the Lord’s Prayer at public meetings. One board member referred to a suggested alternative moment of silence as “a moment of censorship.”There is no such censorship. Our First Amendment guarantees the right of individuals to pray to whomever whenever they please, but our government must not endorse or favor one religion over another, or religion over non-religion. The Berkeley County School Board is a governmental body. Sen. Grooms is also chair of the state Legislative Prayer Caucus, whose goal is to stress “the importance of prayer for our state.”
Speaking as a resident of the state, that’s not my goal, nor should it be the goal of our state. Despite claims that state-sponsored prayer or religious belief unites us, history shows that it is divisive. For example, I was invited in 2003 to give the invocation, typically religious in nature, at a Charleston City Council meeting. When then-Mayor Joe Riley stood to introduce me, half the council members walked out because they knew I was an atheist and would likely offer a secular invocation, as I did. How disrespectful of politicians who were elected to represent all citizens, regardless of race, color, creed or sexual orientation.
The Lord’s Prayer, which Sen. Grooms believes unites us, is even controversial among Christians. I was raised in Philadelphia, home of the 1844 “Bible riots” where both Catholics and Protestants were clubbed to death over which version of the Lord’s Prayer should be recited in public school. Protestants won the political battle, which led to the formation of Catholic schools in 1860.
Politicians, as with all citizens, are free to pray alone or with one another before meetings. While I am not a Christian, I wish that those who are would heed the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:5-6: “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love to pray where they can be seen by others. Instead, go into your room, close the door, and your Father will see what you have done in secret and reward you.”
The Lord’s Prayer, which Sen. Grooms believes unites us, is even controversial among Christians. I was raised in Philadelphia, home of the 1844 “Bible riots” where both Catholics and Protestants were clubbed to death over which version of the Lord’s Prayer should be recited in public school. Protestants won the political battle, which led to the formation of Catholic schools in 1860.
Politicians, as with all citizens, are free to pray alone or with one another before meetings. While I am not a Christian, I wish that those who are would heed the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:5-6: “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love to pray where they can be seen by others. Instead, go into your room, close the door, and your Father will see what you have done in secret and reward you.”
