I discuss yesterday’s decision in Town of Greece v. Galloway at Secular Right, and conclude that Justice Anthony Kennedy’s carefully measured majority opinion, while satisfying neither side in the culture wars, is one I and most other Americans can live with (& welcome Eugene Volokh, SCOTUSBlog, and Scott Greenfield readers).
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But with a “secular invocation”, what would be invoked?
*attempting small joke, not culture warring*
I’ll take a crack at one.
“O Flying Spaghetti Monster, may we all be touched by Your noodly appendage…”
Can someone provide the background to this case? Perhaps it was:
(1) a reaction to recent developments. Over the last year or two there has been a sudden outbreak of councils opening with prayers. This had never happened before. The Founding Fathers knew nothing about it, and would have been outraged to think such a thing could occur. Now some public spirited people have attempted to nip the evil in the bud.
Or perhaps it was:
(2) Councils and other branches of government have been opening with prayer – and Christian prayers at that – for as long as memory runs. The Founding Fathers accepted it as part of the culture. It never occurred to them that, 200 years later, someone would argue that their words forbade it.
I am prepared to bet on number 2.
May the Sauce be with you, Stewart!
[…] Cato’s Caleb Brown interviews me about this week’s Supreme Court decision in the local-government invocation case of Town of Greece v. Galloway, discussed earlier here and here. […]
[…] recent case on invocational prayer at town councils and similar legislative bodies (earlier here and here). Other panelists include Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Mark […]