Defend freedom of religion
Resist efforts to drop state Assembly's opening prayer

The Madison-based Freedom From Religious Foundation is at it again. The foundation, whose stated purpose is to "keep church and state separate," has asked the leadership in the Wisconsin State Assembly to stop opening sessions with prayer.

	Editor's View Mary C. Uhler

In a letter publicized on June 19 to Assembly Speaker Michael Huebsch, foundation Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor charged that "many of these prayers are nothing less than sermons meant to proselytize and advance the Christian faith to the Wisconsin general public."

They called the Assembly's 160-year practice of opening sessions with prayers an "egregious violation" of separation of church and state, because the prayers often advance the Christian faith, thus excluding people of other faiths (or no faith, I assume).

Practice dates back to 1848

The foundation is challenging a longstanding tradition, one which state legislators have continued willingly.

Assembly Chief Clerk Pat Fuller said the practice of prayers before legislative sessions dates back to Wisconsin's first year of statehood in 1848, when the body passed a resolution appointing two members to officiate as chaplains and lead opening prayers.

Current Assembly rules require the chief clerk to arrange a prayer before each floor session. Fuller said he invites lawmakers to sign up to lead the prayers themselves or ask their constituents to lead the prayers. It is strictly voluntary.

Supreme Court upholds prayers

A 1983 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Marsh vs. Chambers, upheld the practice of legislative prayers. The decision stipulated that the prayers must be nonsectarian, nondenominational, and should be addressed only to the body of legislators present.

While the Freedom From Religious Foundation charges that many of the prayers are sectarian, it seems as if any mention of God would appear "sectarian" to the foundation. If God is not mentioned in a prayer, what would be the purpose of praying? It seems to me that the prayer would lose any meaning if it's only a generic invocation to some vague supreme being.

It also seems highly unlikely that a brief prayer at the beginning of a legislative session would lead to the conversion of a legislator to a specific religion. Rather, the prayer more likely reinforces the already existing faith of the legislators, especially considering that a large majority of Wisconsin's citizens are members of Christian denominations.

Fight for freedom of religion

As we prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July, the anniversary of our independence as a nation, we should continue to fight for the freedoms won by our country's founders. The first amendment in the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution mentions freedom of religion. Please note that the amendment uses "of," not "from."

The amendment says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

I encourage Wisconsin's legislators to resist the Freedom From Religion Foundation's efforts to drop prayer at the beginning of their sessions. Our legislators should be free to implore the blessings of God on their sessions, even for those who don't believe in Him.

Contact your legislators asking them to keep the opening prayer at Assembly sessions. Go to the Legislature's Web site at http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/ for contact information.

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