US Supreme Court
After Supreme Court ruling, do religious minorities have a prayer?
By Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Co-editor
(CNN) – If you don’t like it, leave the room.
That’s the essence of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s advice for atheists and others who object to sectarian prayers before government meetings.
In a 5-4 decision written by Kennedy, the Supreme Court allowed Greece, New York, to continue hosting prayers before its monthly town board meetings – even though an atheist and a Jewish citizen complained that the benedictions are almost always explicitly Christian.
Many members of the country’s majority faith – that is, Christians – hailed the ruling.
Many members of minority faiths, as well as atheists, responded with palpable anger, saying the Supreme Court has set them apart as second-class citizens.
Groups from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism to the Hindu American Foundation decried Monday’s decision.
“The court’s decision to bless ‘majority-rules’ prayer is out of step with the changing face of America, which is more secular and less dogmatic,” said Rob Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which litigated the case.
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After decades of giving insane judgments which are anti-Christian, some sense has returned to some of the justices of the Supreme Court. No where else is the majority made to bow to the dictates of a tiny minority.
Those who are unhappy with the verdict should ask themselves if they would tolerate a reversal of roles by having the interest of 83% of the population sacrificed for that of the rest.
It will not be surprising to know that the three women on the Supreme Court bench were among the four who gave the minority opinion. They are the activist justices who legislate from the bench rather than decide on the law as it is.
On the surface it may feel good to every religious person, as he or she likes to pray to the Transcendent God of Unitarian Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
But, this is surely violation of freedom of religion and could change USA into Talibanistan, one step at a time.
Netanyahu wants Israel to be a Jewish state, Taliban want Pakistan to be a theocracy guided by their medieval understanding of Islam, here is Supreme court of USA, a country cherished for its religious freedoms, now siding with the Christian majority, guided by the Republican party agenda. Soon Modi would want India to be a Hindu country.
I guess, the agnostics and atheists in USA would now need to buddy with religious minorities, including the Muslims, rather than their right wing Christian buddies, with whom they grew up.
1– Some people are very much habitual to make a mountain of a mole hill !!!
2– If a person does not wish to join prayer with others, the way they do, then , either he or she can remain quiet or can pray his or her own way , quitely– there is no compelling–Advice to leave room is not a correct one– it is a wron advice !!!!!