Tech Home Game With No Prayer

[rlmiddle]

But prayer at a public event would be rare and questioned by strict constructionists.

The Amendment was put into place to stop the establishment of any one religion being the state religion of the United States.

This was done in response to the Anglican Church being the official State Church of England.

The 1st amendment is very clear and concise in its language about making no law establishing a religion.

The United States was formed as a Christian Nation that is tolerant of other religions.

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

[DallasDog]

Not to sound mean... but we understand that and that is what we are discussing. Since the first amendments creation, courts have set several precedents which blur the lines in public education etc, some are concise on specific scenarios and others are left to more interpretation... such as public tax dollars used to support parochial schools as long as the money isn't deemed to support religious activity in said school.

The courts including the supreme court have allowed things like a giant granite 10 commandments to be displayed on our capitol house lawn because they said it wasn't a monument to religion, but a historical monument to the religion of most travelers who headed west during expansion. While that is true, it is still religious in nature and christian in particular. At the same time the SCOTUS said that Texas was ok, a similar display was removed from a courthouse in Alabama because they simply worded their defense differently.

The use of the PA system and pre-written prayer were at the heart of why prayer at high school games was struck down in Santa Fe ISD v. Doe.... if everyone just started reciting the lords prayer themselves all together without the use of the system the courts said that it would have been protected. Its all how you work it and 9 men and women interpret your pitch.

[Champ967]

The United States was formed as a Christian Nation

I can't seem to find that in the Constitution.

Hmmm ... must be in the Declaration somewhere.

[DallasDog]

It was in the 29th grievance... But the continental congress removed that, and the 28th grievance slavery clause because they were running out of parchment....

Man hindsight being 20/20 and all

[rlmiddle]

I can't seem to find that in the Constitution.

Hmmm ... must be in the Declaration somewhere.

.

Yep!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The founding fathers were for the mostly Christians and Deists and the citizens were mostly Christians of various denominations. The whole point of the was that they did not want the federal government to use laws to sponsor one particular state run religious denomination. By completely removing any references to any religions then you are having the government sponsor a state run religion of Atheism.

[Guisslapp]

More like securalism.

[Blue Dawg]

.

Yep!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The founding fathers were for the mostly Christians and Deists and the citizens were mostly Christians of various denominations. The whole point of the was that they did not want the federal government to use laws to sponsor one particular state run religious denomination. By completely removing any references to any religions then you are having the government sponsor a state run religion of Atheism.

also of note: it says "Congress" shall make no law. This is delegated to the States individual, so if Alabama wanted to be Christian, Presbyterian, whatever, they could make that the official religion of Alabama. Probably would be something like official language - just because our official language is English doesn't mean we're going to force you to (though I can probably name some far right wing guys that'd be all for that).

[1962DAWG]

So where are you all going with this discussion? - if you don't mind me asking. Sounds like the next game at The Joe (Homecoming) and we get the prayer before the game....then a bunch of you will be calling lawyers, etc before the first kick, to get the university to not let that happen again! Or am I just reading too much into the jist of some of the comments?

[EJ]

Think of all of the teams that have visited our stadium. They came from all parts of the country and from many different areas with varying political and religious views.

I have never once heard of a complaint about having a prayer before the game.

The 1st Amendment was written to allow for freedom of religion from government control. It wasn't written to prevent religion through the use of government control.

[Champ967]

The 1st Amendment was written to allow for freedom of religion from government control. It wasn't written to prevent religion the use of government control.

If that's the case, its writers should have clarified ...

[Champ967]

.

Yep!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Acknowledging the existence of a Creator does not a Christian nation make. If this statement was intended to reference the God of the Christian Bible, and by extension establish a Christian nation, its writers should have clarified.

Because that would be kind of a big deal, certainly deserving of more than an oblique reference.

[tclark]

Does it actually offend any of you?

[Champ967]

The founding fathers were for the mostly Christians and Deists ....

And drank like fish, and kept dozens of mistresses and were, without exception, huge racists. So with no disrespect to their contributions to history, you'll pardon me if I question their qualifications as founders of a Christian nation.

I'd submit to you there is only one Christian nation. It's a Kingdom, and it's coming sooner than later.

[ntruppel]

Hey guys,

Skipping the prayer was not a religious or political move. The prayer happens during the band's pregame show, just before the national anthem and Alma Mater. Because of the rain delays, the entirety of pregame (including the band's performance, the prayer, and the team running out onto the field) was cancelled so that the game could get underway.

[Guisslapp]

also of note: it says "Congress" shall make no law. This is delegated to the States individual, so if Alabama wanted to be Christian, Presbyterian, whatever, they could make that the official religion of Alabama. Probably would be something like official language - just because our official language is English doesn't mean we're going to force you to (though I can probably name some far right wing guys that'd be all for that).

That is where the 14th amendment come in.