The U.S. Supreme Court may be about to rule on how closely local politics and prayer can be combined.
A decision is expected in the court session beginning Feb. 24 in Town of Greece vs. Galloway. The case involves two Greece, N.Y., residents — one Jewish, the other an atheist — who said they felt marginalized by the town board’s near-exclusive use of Christian prayer to open meetings.
“Many of the prayer-givers have elaborated on Christian tenets and celebrated the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ; one asked attendees to recite the Lord’s Prayer in unison; and another criticized objectors to the prayer practice as an ‘ignorant’ ‘minority,’” they said in a brief to the court.
Among those watching the case is the Rowan County Board of Commissioners. The board faces a similar lawsuit filed on behalf of three Rowan citizens who take issue with the board’s use of exclusively Christian prayer. The ACLU filed the suit on the citizens’ behalf.
“The six Catholics and three Jews on the U.S. Supreme Court should be ruling on the issue soon,” reports UPI. “They heard arguments in the case, Town of Greece vs. Galloway, Nov. 6, and a decision should be ready to drop soon, like ripe fruit.”
We’re Number 9?
Half of the people in North Carolina are “very religious,” making this the ninth most religious state in the nation, according a recent State of the States report from Gallup.
The rankings are based how many people surveyed by Gallup said religion was an important part of their daily lives and that they attend religious services every week or almost every week.
Overall, religiousness across the country in 2013 was about the same as recent previous years. Some 41.4 percent were very religious, 29.2 percent were somewhat religious and 29.4 were nonreligious.
Mississippi is the most religious state in the nation, with 61 percent of the population fitting the very religious criteria, according to the survey. Vermont, with only 22 percent, is the least religious.
Try this Top 10
From Beliefnet.com, here are 10 things you never hear in church:
1. Hey! It’s my turn to sit in the front pew!
2. I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time.
3. Personally I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf.
4. I’ve decided to give our church the $500 a month I used to send to TV evangelists.
5. I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the Junior High Sunday School class.
6. Forget the denominational minimum salary. Let’s pay our pastor so he can live like we do.
7. I love it when we sing hymns I’ve never heard before!
8. Since we’re all here, let’s start the service early.
9. Pastor, we’d like to send you to this Bible seminar in the Bahamas.
10. Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign!