Town of Greece v. Galloway

Background

The dispute arose when the town of Greece, New York, began opening its monthly town board meetings with an invited local clergyman’s prayer after a period of silence. The practice began in 1999 and used unpaid volunteer ministers drawn from a list compiled from a local directory; most who served were Christian. Two long-time residents who spoke at meetings objected that the prayers favored Christianity and sued, asking the courts to require only inclusive, nonsectarian prayers. The District Court upheld the practice, but the Court of Appeals ruled the town’s program amounted to an endorsement of Christianity.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether opening meetings with prayer violates the First Amendment’s ban on government establishing religion. Relying on Marsh v. Chambers and the long history of legislative prayer, the majority held that such ceremonial prayers are permitted when they fit the historical tradition, are not exploited to proselytize or denigrate other faiths, and do not coerce participation. The Court concluded Greece’s practice fit that tradition, pointed to the town’s nondiscrimination policy and the lack of evidence that citizens were coerced, and reversed the Court of Appeals.

Real world impact

The decision allows similar prayer practices to continue at local legislative meetings so long as they follow the tradition the Court described and do not coerce or denigrate nonadherents. Courts remain able to review future patterns of prayer over time and to act if a pattern of proselytizing or coercion emerges.

Dissents or concurrances

A dissent argued the town did too little to include non-Christian prayer givers and that the largely Christian prayers addressed to members of the public impaired religious equality; separate concurrences stressed other constitutional points.