D.C. Circuit Rules House Can Reject Atheist Invocation ‘Prayer’

The U.S. Congress can refuse requests for atheists to deliver whatever they call prayer for an invocation to begin a session of legislative process according to a Washington DC court decision. (Wikimedia photo)

The Christian Post – The U.S. House of Representatives and House Chaplain Pat Conroy can reject an atheist’s request to deliver a secular invocation, a federal appeals court ruled last Friday.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit protected the legislative chamber’s requirement to begin each day in session with a prayer by upholding a lower court ruling that tossed out a lawsuit brought forth by atheist Dan Barker.

Barker, co-president of the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and a former minister, claimed in a lawsuit that his First Amendment rights were violated when his 2015 application to serve as a guest chaplain in the House was denied.

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