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Back to To the Point

To the Point

Is America 'One Nation… under Jesus Christ?'

In the small town of Greece, New York, citizens must participate in town meetings to interact with their elected officials. In 1999, Greece began offering prayers at each town meeting, led by the "chaplain of the month." All the chaplains were Christians who mostly invoked Jesus Christ specifically.

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By Warren Olney • May 10, 2014 • 1 min read

In the small town of Greece, New York, citizens must participate in town meetings to interact with their elected officials. In 1999, Greece began offering prayers at each town meeting, led by the "chaplain of the month." All the chaplains were Christians who mostly invoked Jesus Christ specifically. In 2008, two women went to court, complaining that they were not just excluded, but coerced into religious observances contrary to their own beliefs. This week, the US Supreme Court ruled against them, giving its blessing to sectarian prayer at public meetings. Specifically Christian invocations are okay. What if you're Jewish, Muslim, atheist or agnostic? What's happened to "the separation of church and state?" What should local officials do now? We address an issue that's even older than the Constitution, the Bill of Rights or the founding of the United States.

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    Warren Olney

    former KCRW broadcaster

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    Caitlin Shamberg

    KCRW

  • KCRW placeholder

    Mike Kessler

    freelance journalist

  • KCRW placeholder

    Andrea Brody

    Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast

  • KCRW placeholder

    Dahlia Lithwick

    Author; Senior legal affairs correspondent, Slate; podcast host, Amicus podcast

  • KCRW placeholder

    Russell Moore

    Southern Baptist Convention

  • KCRW placeholder

    Lisa Soronen

    State and Local Legal Center

    NewsNationalPolitics
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