Atheists File Lawsuit against Prayer at Inauguration

by Karenke4 | December 31, 2008 at 11:03 am

369 views | 14 Recommendations | 10 comments

Atheist groups, led by Dan Barker co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, filed a lawsuit yesterday to ban prayer at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony, the latest in a string of efforts to ban religious wording from secular American institutions, including schools.

Barker, who said government's not picking sides on the issue of religion is "hard wired into our Constitution," called the 29 members of the suit all atheists and agnostics who love their country and participating in the inauguration.

"Yet we are subjected to someone else's religious views with the endorsement of the government, which makes us feel like second class outsiders," he said.

Many believe that the law suit is unwarranted, citing that it is Mr. Obama's personal decision to have prayer at the inauguration, not a requirement of the government. Having prayer at public ceremonies is not considered unconstitutional, though declaring a national religion would be.

According to the lawsuit, the opening and ending prayers "are completely exclusionary, showing absolute disrespect to Plaintiffs and others of similar religious views, who explicitly reject the purely religious claims that will be endorsed, i.e., (a) there exists a God, and (b) the United States government should pay homage to that God."

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dunkelberg

at 12:04 on December 31st, 2008

As long as we only are talking about Christian prayers, there will be tremendous resistance.

Now, were it another religion, I wonder how that would play? Personally, I think it would get nasty.

smos

at 12:28 on December 31st, 2008

158

at 17:01 on December 31st, 2008

This will get nowhere.

There will be resistance, just like there would be if someone wanted to stop the ceremony from being conducted in English.

dfndr13

at 19:10 on January 1st, 2009

I'm not religious by any stretch of the imagination, but don't these people have anything better to focus their energy on?

azzayindia

at 08:02 on January 3rd, 2009

well religion should not be public only private at homes evn prayers.

azzayindia

at 08:03 on January 3rd, 2009

religion has divided and killed more people in the world yes it should be shunned from public life.

Frances Taylor (not verified)

at 05:40 on January 5th, 2009

This country was founded on the Christian principle, see below:

“We believe in the existence of God and in the immortal soul”

~Thomas Paine, Age of Reason

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God,
to obey His will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore His
protection and His favor.

~George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789

“He who shall introduce into public affairs
the principles of a primitive Christianity
will change the face of the world.”

~Benjamin Franklin

EvilGod (not verified)

at 07:06 on January 5th, 2009

@ Frances Taylor.
You are very wrong and are either remarkably uneducated or only educated by those with a religious agenda. Here are some, not taken out of context, quotes from the forefathers of America.

* George Washington: "The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian Religion."

* Thomas Jefferson: "Christianity is the most perverted system ever shone to man."
* Benjamin Franklin: "In the affairs of the world, men are saved, not by faith, but by the lack of it."
* Ulysses S. Grant: "Declare church and state forever separate and distinct; but each free within their proper spheres."

Imagine how insulted, how outraged, you would be if a president decided he wanted to be sworn in on a Koran or Torah e.t.c. Well that's how insulting to us the oath to the Christian god is. 30+% of Americans aren't Christian and justly ask that the oath was to the people, all of whom the government represents, not just the Christians.

@Karenke4
The title "Atheists File Lawsuit..." implies that atheists are an organised group and that many are involved, "An atheist organisation..." of more accurately "The Freedom From Religion Foundation..." would have been correct but not as inflammatory therefore not as morally bankrupt as modern American journalistic standards.

Brown (not verified)

at 12:34 on January 16th, 2009

invoke God during inauguration oath, this is a personal opinion and one that is needed in this day and age. It appears Newdon, has been busy suing to remove or omit the word GOD. But I have not seen a suit against the US Treasury Department for having "In God We Trust" on our money!
So the question is what does this man/people earn and pay their his bills with ?
Hummm the same bills, you and I use with no objection. An Athiest would not be caught with these words on their person. Find something else to expend your energy on Newdon.

EvilGod (not verified)

at 22:07 on March 23rd, 2009

@ Brown

The only reason you haven't "seen a suit against the US Treasury Department for having "In God We Trust" on our money!" is because you haven't looked. There has been more than one and one day when the Supreme court isn't stacked with deluded believers that ridiculous situation will be righted.

Who says we use it "with no objection"? Every atheist objects to your irrational beliefs being advertised on everyones money. You seem to forget the U.S. is not now, nor has it ever been, a Christian country. The fact you are in a majority at the moment doesn't make your hijacking of advertising space on your money rightious. Your money existed a lot longer without that bilious phrase on it than it has with it.