The issue of public prayers has been raised again, this time in Pearland before meeting of the Pearland Independent School District board of trustees.
The U.S. Constitution's establishment clause has been interpreted to mean that a group prayer by the members of a governmental unit demonstrates a bias towards one particular religion--which can fall under the definition of establishment. Which could mean that group prayer before a meeting could be illegal.
Rather than an official prayer--or designation that a prayer be given--each member was to be given an opportunity on a rotating basis to give introductory remarks. These could include a moment of silence, inspirational remarks, non-proselytizing prayer, or what ever suits the speaker's fancy. This is a way that the decision about the content of the statement was up to the individual not the governing unit. The Supreme Court has not seen it this way in the past (notably in the Supreme Court case involving Santa Fe High School) so even this process may be illegal.
According to the story, at least one attendee at the meeting feels that that is the case and that is all it take to initiate a court case. Supporters of prayers in these cases may welcome such a case though because recent changes in the Supreme Court may mean that they will be more willing to decided in favor of prayers before public meetings.
