Texas school board can start meetings with prayer: U.S. 5th Circuit appeals court

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

U.S. | Mon Mar 20, 2017 | 2:33pm EDT

Texas school board can start meetings with prayer: U.S. appeals court

By Jonathan Stempel

A federal appeals court on Monday said a Texas school board may open its meetings with student-led prayers without violating the U.S. Constitution.

In a 3-0 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal by the American Humanist Association, which said the practice by the Birdville Independent School District violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.

The appeals court also reversed a lower court judge's denial of "qualified immunity" to school board members, and dismissed the case against them. Birdville serves Haltom City, Texas, a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth.

Monica Miller, a lawyer for AHA and Isaiah Smith, a 2014 Birdville High School graduate who challenged the prayers, said they are reviewing their options, including asking the entire New Orleans-based appeals court to review the case.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-texas-prayer-idUSKBN16R27R

[Jonny Appleseed]

1. So can students offer renditions of Muslim prayer too?

I'd really like someone to try it, if only to see how many of the parents are concealed carrying.

[Igel]

4. Is this even a thing?

I mean, I go to a quirky kind of synagogue and apart from some rites it's Baptist or Methodist. All kinds of things are so "We do this because everybody else does". it's ridiculous. "Ooh, ooh, me too!"

The church I belonged to years ago was a bit different. I watched the pastor get asked to open some meeting with prayer and he was at a loss. It wasn't something "we did." He well nigh said no but figured it would be discourteous. He seemed quite uncomfortable.

[Iggo]

2. Somebody gonna step up and offer non-xian prayers?

Church of Satan, I'm looking at you.

[Doreen]

3. So, prayer in Buddhism is baisiclly meditation

so you are going to have a meditation before the meeting? By the time everybody has done their religions prayer you might as well not have the damn meeting.

[beam me up scottie]

5. Someone needs to invite a Pastafarian to lead them in prayers.

[Angry Dragon]

6. I hope the Satanists also start praying

[littlemissmartypants]

7. I'm going to pray for

A wild-eyed, feisty school aged Texas feminist to offer up prayers from the goddesses to smash the patriarchy.

How long before some wise kid seizes the moment here to pray to the Coal Rolling gods?

If I had a kid in this school system I would so encourage her/him to start a religion of their own and insist that they be allowed to pray to it. This could really easily be hijacked and it would be a hijack I could endorse.

Three republican judges. No shock there.

Monica Miller, a lawyer for AHA and Isaiah Smith, a 2014 Birdville High School graduate who challenged the prayers, said they were reviewing their options, including asking the entire New Orleans-based appeals court to review the case.

Thank you for the post Eugene.

♡lmsp