prayer
Federal court upholds Pa. House policy that blocks non-believers from offering opening prayer
After an initial loss, Pennsylvania House leadership scored a win Friday, when its policy mandating that someone who believes in God deliver the chamber’s opening prayer was upheld in the federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit was filed by the Dillsburg Area Freethinkers, a York County-based group of non-believers, after former House Speaker […]
Why does the Pa. Legislature begin sessions with prayer? Experts say it’s more than just tradition.
When a member of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives gave a fiery Christian prayer before the chamber welcomed a new Muslim lawmaker on Monday, critics were quick to denounce it as Islamophobic and unconstitutional. In a two-minute prayer, Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, R-Clinton, called Jesus “our only hope” and willed “every knee” to bow to God. Minutes […]