Missouri Attorney Generals Call for Reversal of Court Ruling on National Day of Prayer

Missouri State Attorney General Chris Koster has called for the reversal of a federal court decision declarinig the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. Koster has joined 28 other state attorneys general in filing a “friend-of-the-court” brief with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opposing the decision.

Illinois’ Attorney General, Lisa Madigan is noticeably absent in defending the First Amendment’s guarantee of “free exercise” of religion.

You may remember that U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of Wisconsin ruled in April that Congress violated the First Amendment to the Constitution when it established a designated National Day of Prayer in 1988. Congress passed legislation that year designating the first Thursday in May for the national observance of a Day of Prayer. Judge Crabb ruled that such an observance amounted to an unconstitutional establishment of religion. The suit was filed by the anti-God group kn own as the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

The brief filed by these States Attorneys General argues that federal courts have repeatedly acknowledged the country’s religious heritage and the integral role of religion in American public life. The brief points out that every President except one since George Washington has issued a proclamation calling for national days of prayer and thanksgiving to God.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott led the effort to enlist his colleagues from across the country in calling for the reversal of Judge Crabb’s reckless ruling. Abbott insists that the federal law does not run afoul of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because “no citizen is required to participate in any religious activity, and no government body or official is directed to conduct any religious activity.”

Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins says that the federal court decision is the latest threat to religious liberty in the United States. “Since the conception of our nation, Americans have enjoyed religious freedom and the right to gather voluntarily for prayer. Judge Crabb’s ruling squelches the religious freedom our Founding Fathers chose to protect in the Constitution and advances an activist agenda to hide our religious foundation.”

The National Day of Prayer Task Force has organized a petition drive urging President Obama to instruct the Justice Depatment to mount a vigorous defense on behalf of the National Day of Prayer in federal court. Leading legal advocates for religious liberty have expressed concern that the legal defense mounted so far by the Obama Administration has lacked intellectual rigor. You can sign the petition to President Obama by following this link:
NDP Petition.