[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 132--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR PRAYER AT SCHOOL BOARD 
                                MEETINGS

  Mr. VITTER (for himself, Mr. Coburn, and Mr. DeMint) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 132

       Whereas the freedom to practice religion and to express 
     religious thought is acknowledged to be a fundamental and 
     unalienable right belonging to all individuals;
       Whereas the United States was founded on the principle of 
     freedom of religion and not freedom from religion;
       Whereas the framers intended that the First Amendment would 
     prohibit the Federal Government from enacting any law that 
     favors one religious denomination over another, not prohibit 
     any mention of religion or reference to God in civic dialog;
       Whereas in 1983, the United States Supreme Court held in 
     Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783, that the practice of opening 
     legislative sessions with prayer has become part of the 
     fabric of our society and to invoke divine guidance on a 
     public body entrusted with making the laws is not a violation 
     of the Establishment Clause, but rather is simply a tolerable 
     acknowledgment of beliefs widely held among the people of 
     this Nation;
       Whereas voluntary prayer in elected bodies should not be 
     limited to prayer in State legislatures and Congress;
       Whereas school boards are deliberative bodies of adults 
     similar to a legislature in that they are elected by the 
     people, act in the public interest, and are open to the 
     public for voluntary attendance; and
       Whereas voluntary prayer by an elected body should be 
     protected under law and encouraged in society because 
     voluntary prayer has become a part of the fabric of our 
     society, voluntary prayer acknowledges beliefs widely held 
     among the people of this Nation, and the Supreme Court has 
     held that it is not a violation of the Establishment Clause 
     for a public body to invoke divine guidance: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes that prayer before school board meetings is 
     a protected act in accordance with the fundamental principles 
     upon which the Nation was founded; and
       (2) expresses support for the practice of prayer at the 
     beginning of school board meetings.

                          ____________________