Freedom From Religion Found. Inc v. Obama
| Decision Date | 15 April 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 08-cv-588-bbc.,08-cv-588-bbc. |
| Parties | FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION, INC., Anne Nicol Gaylor, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, Paul Gaylor, Phyllis Rose and Jill Dean, Plaintiffs,v.President Barack OBAMA and White House Press Secretary Robert L. Gibbs, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Wisconsin |
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Richard L. Bolton, Boardman, Suhr, Curry & Field LLP, Madison, WI, for Plaintiffs.
Brad P. Rosenberg, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendants.
Geoffrey Surtees, American Center for Law and Justice, New Hope, KY, for Amicus.
The role that prayer should play in public life has been a matter of intense debate in this country since its founding. When the Continental Congress met for its inaugural session in September 1774, delegate Thomas Cushing proposed to open the session with a prayer. Delegates John Jay and John Rutledge (two future Chief Justices of the Supreme Court) objected to the proposal on the ground that the Congress was “so divided in religious Sentiments ... that We could not join in the same Act of Worship.” Eventually, Samuel Adams convinced the other delegates to allow the reading of a psalm the following day. Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams (Sept. 16, 1774) available at http:// www. masshist. org/ digitaladams. The debate continued during the Constitutional Convention (which did not include prayer) and the terms of Presidents such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, each of whom held different views about public prayer under the establishment clause. It continues today. In recent decades, the Supreme Court has decided a number of cases regarding the constitutionality of public prayer in various contexts, often generating controversy regardless of the outcome.
This case explores one aspect of the line that separates government sponsored prayer practices that are constitutional from those that are not. Brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the case raises the question whether the statute creating the “National Day of Prayer,” 36 U.S.C. § 119, violates the establishment clause of the United States Constitution. Plaintiff Freedom from Religion Foundation and several of its members contend that the statute is unconstitutional because it endorses prayer and encourages citizens to engage in that particular religious exercise.
President Barack Obama, who is charged with enforcing the statute by issuing a proclamation each year, and his press secretary, Robert Gibbs, contend that the statute is simply an “acknowledgment of the role of religion in American life” and is indistinguishable from government practices that courts have upheld in the past.
The parties have filed cross motions for summary judgment. Dkt. # 82 and 103. The American Center for Law and Justice, representing some members of Congress, has filed an amicus brief in favor of defendants. Dkt. # 59. In a previous order, I concluded that plaintiffs have standing to challenge § 119, but not to challenge presidential prayer proclamations generally. In addition, I concluded that because plaintiffs had failed to show that Shirley Dobson, the chairperson for the National Day of Prayer Task Force, injured them, they had no standing to sue her. Accordingly, I dismissed the complaint as to Dobson. Dkt. # 131.
Plaintiffs' challenge to § 119 arises at the intersection of two different lines of Supreme Court jurisprudence. On one hand, the Court has held on many occasions that the government violates the establishment clause when it engages in conduct that a reasonable observer would view as an endorsement of a particular religious belief or practice, including prayer. On the other hand, the Court has held that some forms of “ceremonial deism,” such as legislative prayer, do not violate the establishment clause. In Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677, 683, 125 S.Ct. 2854, 162 L.Ed.2d 607 (2005) (), a plurality of the Court stated that its establishment clause cases were “Januslike, point [ing] in two directions.”
Although there is tension among these cases, I do not believe they are irreconcilable; they simply show that context is important when applying the establishment clause. In my view of the case law, government involvement in prayer may be consistent with the establishment clause when the government's conduct serves a significant secular purpose and is not a “call for religious action on the part of citizens.” McCreary County, Kentucky v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, 545 U.S. 844, 877, 125 S.Ct. 2722, 162 L.Ed.2d 729 (2005).
Unfortunately, § 119 cannot meet that test. It goes beyond mere “acknowledgment” of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context. In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience. “When the government associates one set of religious beliefs with the state and identifies nonadherents as outsiders, it encroaches upon the individual's decision about whether and how to worship.” McCreary County, 545 U.S. at 883, 125 S.Ct. 2722 (O'Connor, J., concurring). Accordingly, I conclude that § 119 violates the establishment clause.
It bears emphasizing that a conclusion that the establishment clause prohibits the government from endorsing a religious exercise is not a judgment on the value of prayer or the millions of Americans who believe in its power. No one can doubt the important role that prayer plays in the spiritual life of a believer. In the best of times, people may pray as a way of expressing joy and thanks; during times of grief, many find that prayer provides comfort. Others may pray to give praise, seek forgiveness, ask for guidance or find the truth. “And perhaps it is not too much to say that since the beginning of th [e] history [of humans] many people have devoutly believed that ‘More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.’ ” Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421, 433, 82 S.Ct. 1261, 8 L.Ed.2d 601 (1962). However, recognizing the importance of prayer to many people does not mean that the government may enact a statute in support of it, any more than the government may encourage citizens to fast during the month of Ramadan, attend a synagogue, purify themselves in a sweat lodge or practice rune magic. In fact, it is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual's decision whether and when to pray.
From the parties' proposed findings of fact and the record, I find that the following facts are undisputed.
Plaintiff Freedom from Religion Foundation is an organization founded in 1976 in Madison, Wisconsin. It is devoted to “promot[ing] the constitutional principle of separation of church and state” and “educat[ing] the public on matters of nontheism.” Plaintiffs Anne Nicol Gaylor, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, Paul Gaylor, Phyllis Rose and Jill Dean are members of the foundation. Defendant Barack Obama is the President of the United States. Defendant Robert Gibbs is the President's press secretary.
In 1952, evangelist Billy Graham led a six week religious campaign in Washington, D.C., holding events in the National Guard Armory and on the Capitol steps. The campaign culminated in a speech in which Graham called for a national day of prayer:
Ladies and gentlemen, our Nation was founded upon God, religion and the church....
...
What a thrilling, glorious thing it would be to see the leaders of our country today kneeling before Almighty God in prayer. What a thrill would sweep this country. What renewed hope and courage would grip the Americans at this hour of peril.
...
We have dropped our pilot, the Lord Jesus Christ, and are sailing blindly on without divine chart or compass, hoping somehow to find our desired haven. We have certain leaders who are rank materialists; they do not recognize God nor care for Him; they spend their time in one round of parties after another. The Capital City of our Nation can have a great spiritual awakening, thousands coming to Jesus Christ, but certain leaders have not lifted an eyebrow, nor raised a finger, nor showed the slightest bit of concern.
Ladies and gentlemen, I warn you, if this state of affairs continues, the end of the course is national shipwreck and ruin.
After Graham's speech, Representative Percy Priest introduced a bill to establish a National Day of Prayer. In addressing the House of Representatives, he noted that the country had been “challenged yesterday by the suggestion made on the east steps of the Capitol by Billy Graham that the Congress call on the President for the proclamation of a day of prayer.”
In support of the bill, Representative Brooks stated that Representative Peter W. Rodino, Jr., stated that “it is fitting and timely that the people of America, in approaching the Easter season, as God-fearing men and women, devote themselves to a day of prayer in the interest of peace.”
Absalom Robertson introduced the bill in the Senate, stating that it was a measure against “the corrosive forces of communism which seek simultaneously to destroy our democratic way of life and the faith in an Almighty God on which it is based.” A committee report in the House of Representatives stated that the purpose of the bill “is to direct the President to proclaim a National Day of Prayer each year.” A Senate report...
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