State does religion no favors
By Paul Finkelman
Paul Finkelman is the President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy at Albany Law School.
Published 5:18 pm, Friday, November 29, 2013
The issue is pretty simple: Can a local government begin its public meetings with prayers that are highly sectarian.
That's how it is in the Town of Greece. The Rochester suburb has practitioners of many faiths — or none at all — and the prayers are virtually always led by an evangelical Protestant minister.
The issue is now before the U.S. Supreme Court in Town of Greece v. Galloway. Susan Galloway and Linda Stevens — an atheist and a Jew — argue that the town prayer violates the separation of church and state required by the First Amendment and that it makes it difficult for members of minority faiths to take their issues before the Town Board.
A Jew wearing yarmulke, a Sikh in a turban or a Catholic priest with his collar on might feel uncomfortable petitioning the town government after such a prayer. This is why I helped write a Friend of the Court brief to help protect religious freedom in this upstate town.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/State-does-religion-no-favors-5022283.php
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