House Panel OKs Prayer Amendment

The House Judiciary Committee, giving religious conservatives a long-sought victory, has approved a proposal to amend the Constitution to protect “the people’s right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage or traditions on public property.”

The amendment would also, for the first time, put the word God in the Constitution.

The vote this past Wednesday followed party lines, with 16 Republicans outvoting the 11 Democrats on the committee.

Reaction was similarly predictable. Randy Tate, executive director of the Christian Coalition, called the vote “monumental,” while Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called it a “disaster of titanic proportions.”

Christian conservatives have been seeking to amend the Constitution to more specifically permit organized prayer in public schools since the early 1960s, when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down rulings barring state-sponsored prayer and Bible reading in the public schools.

Critics say the amendment is unnecessary because every student already has the right to pray in schools. The court ruling only prohibited school officials from organizing or directing prayers. The critics fear that the amendment would lead to a return of state-sponsored or state-organized prayer.

The proposal has a long way to go before the Constitution is changed. It must still be approved by a two-thirds vote from the full House. Istook said no date has been set for that vote.

In addition, the amendment would have to be approved by a two-thirds vote in the Senate, where it has not yet been introduced. If it wins both House and Senate approval, the amendment would have to be ratified by 38 state legislatures before it could be added to the Constitution.