FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 5, 2014
MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 5-4 decision that allows local government legislative bodies to begin their meetings with official sectarian prayer.
“We are disappointed by today’s decision. Official religious favoritism should be off-limits under the Constitution,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Town-sponsored sectarian prayer violates the basic rule requiring the government to stay neutral on matters of faith.”
The ACLU filed a friend of the court brief supporting the residents of the Town of Greece, NY, who objected to hearing government prayers, the vast majority of which were expressly Christian invocations, as a condition of attending public meetings.
In Wisconsin, many local legislative bodies, including the Milwaukee Common Council, already begin their meetings with a moment of silence or non-denominational prayer. The ACLU of Wisconsin is reminding local government bodies, especially school boards, that the Court still prohibits sectarian prayers which are coercive. “Citizens waiting address the town council, including students waiting to address their public school board, should be made to feel like outsiders by their government,” said Christopher Ahmuty, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin. “Elected officials must be sure not to direct the public to participate, single out dissidents, or indicate that their decisions might be influenced by a person’s acquiescence in the prayer opportunity.”
The ACLU of Wisconsin invites Wisconsin residents to report instances of coercive prayer by calling or emailing the ACLU’s state office in Milwaukee.
The ACLU of Wisconsin is a non-profit, non-partisan, private organization whose 7,000 members support its efforts to defend the civil rights and liberties of all Wisconsin residents. For more on the ACLU of Wisconsin, visit our website, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @ACLUofWisconsin and @ACLUMadison.