A town preacher has announced that he’s holding a prayer service and gospel-singing event at City Hall in a few weeks.
Is this legal?
Note that I’m not asking because I intend to make a stink about this: not my circus, not my monkeys. But it does seem like a violation of the Establishment Clause, from where I sit.
The Supreme Court held (5-4) that prayer before a government meeting is allowed.
If that is allowed I do not see why this would not be allowed.
That said, if they allow this, then they have to allow any other religion to do the same (i.e. a Muslim group has to be allowed to hold a service at City Hall).
People are allowed to pray in public places. If this is just some dudes showing up, then it’s fine. If they have rented a space in City Hall for an event, that’s also fine, assuming City Hall does not give them preference over other potential renters.
If it’s a prayer service as part of some official government function, like opening a City Council meeting, then it is potentially problematic.
The First Amendment says two things about religion, not just one. And the second thing is just as important as the first. Unless the Chaplain Danny Ray is coercing you in some way, this is legal.
And no, it doesn’t make any difference if the mayor joins, or the whole city council.
Regards,
Shodan
around here it’s common for churches to rent schools or other government buildings for sunday services when they are starting out and don’t own their own place.