The Supreme Court deliberated the constitutional issue of the separation of church and state in regards to what prayers should be allowed at town meetings on Wednesday, Reuters reported
The court is debating whether mainly Christian prayers should be allowed before town hall meetings in Greece, New York, and if allowing the prayers violated the United States Constitution's First Amendment, according to Reuters.
Questions arose during the hearing about whether town meetings should be viewed differently than a legislative session, and whether the government should even be regulating the content of prayers to ensure others are not offended, Reuters reported.
The suit was filed by Susan Galloway who is Jewish, and Linda Stephens, who is an atheist, in 2008 after mainly Christian members of the community continued to recite prayers before town hall meetings in the town of 100,000 people, Reuters reported. The two women claim the practice made them feel uncomfortable.
Currently, under Supreme Court precedent, prayers held in a state legislature do not violate the First Amendment, but it has not given a ruling on other types of government meetings, according to Reuters. Justice Anthony Kennedy said it might be confusing for the court to differentiate a state legislature from a town meeting, claiming he didn't think the public would understand that ruling, Reuters reported.
Justice Samuel Alito said he doesn't see how it is possible to compose anything that you could call a prayer that is acceptable to all groups of religion, according to Reuters. Another Justice, Elena Kagan, was also skeptical the court would reach a decision which would resolve the dispute in an acceptable way because religion is such a delicate subject.
"I think it's hard because the court lays down these rules and everybody thinks that the court is being hostile to religion," Kagan said, according to Reuters.
In a 1983 Supreme Court ruling, legislative sessions could be allowed to begin with a prayer in most circumstance because of a "unique history" of the practice in the U.S., Reuters reported.
The ruling was not taken into account when the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled against the town of Greece in May 2012 after a previous court dismissed the lawsuit filed by both Galloway and Stephens, according to Reuters.
