The First Amendment to the Constitution contains two instructions to public officials, or more specifically to Congress.
The first is the Establishment Clause, which restrains Congress from making any laws “respecting an establishment of religion.”
The second is the Free Exercise Clause, which tells Congress that it cannot make any law “prohibiting the free exercise” of religion. The 14th Amendment extends those instructions to officials at the local level through its “equal protection clause”.
The conflict between these two sides of the First Amendment came to a head during planning for this year’s Memorial Day Service at the Houston VA Cemetery.
Arleen Ocasio, the cemetery director, was attempting to satisfy the Establishment Clause when she told a pastor that messages “must be inclusive of all beliefs, need to be general, and its fundamental purpose should be specific to those we are honoring, and non-denominational in nature.”
Rev. Scott Rainy told the director that he proposed to use the Lord’s Prayer as it is found in the New Testament, Matthew 6:9-13. He also proposed to end his prayer with the phrase, “it is in the name of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, that I pray.”
He was told by Ms. Ocasio that his remarks were too “specific to one belief.” Rev. Rainy responded by filing a lawsuit in Federal Court.
Federal Judge Lynn Hughes granted a temporary restraint on Ms. Ocasio and other VA officials which allowed Rev. Rainy to deliver his remarks in the manner that he wished.
Tags: constituion, first amendment, Gene Fischer, public square, religion, religious expression
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