Yesterday that case was argued before the High Court, and it was most distressing to learn that Obama's lawyer, Deputy Solicitor General Ian Gershengorn, admitted to the justices that "there is an element of coercion" in forcing non-Christians who have business before a town board to bow their heads and listen to prayers that refer to "Jesus Christ," Your Holy Son," and "Holy Spirit" (the record in the case before the Court shows that two-thirds of the prayers given before the Town Board of Greece, New York, have included this kind of plainly sectarian language).
If the president's lawyer can see that there is an element of coercion, then why is the administration still siding with the tiny Upstate New York town, which insists that there is nothing offensive going on?
One of progressive Christianity's core commitments concerns keeping the wall of separation intact. No one (well, almost no one) objects to "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency. No one objects to chaplains giving non-sectarian invocations before sessions of Congress, and the Court has upheld such practices. But shoving Christianity down someone's throat at any kind of governmental gathering? That is obviously unacceptable--and President Obama, a constitutional scholar, should be deeply ashamed of himself for not recognizing it.
Yours for freedom of religion -- and freedom from religion when necessary,
Peter Laarman
Executive Director