Supreme Court To Consider Constitutionality of Opening Government Meetings With Prayer

Appeals court in New York found prayers before town board meeting to be unconstitutional

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Lawyers Wednesday readied arguments for the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of opening government meetings with prayer -- almost always Christian.

A town board in upstate New York, a suburb of Rochester, has opened its meetings for years with a Christian prayer led by a Christian cleric. But a federal appeals court ruled the prayers unconstitutional, finding they endorse Christianity.