School prayer amendment fails in Congress
6/8/1998 News media contact: Linda Bloom · (646) 369-3759 · New York by United Methodist News Service A constitutional amendment to allow organized prayer in public schools failed to pass Congress June 4 by an even larger percentage than the last such vote in 1971.
According to the Rev. John Swomley, a United Methodist who serves as president of Americans for Religious Liberty, the amendment sponsored by Rep. Ernest Istook Jr., R-Okla., drew 52.4 percent of the vote. In 1971, another school prayer amendment drew 59.7 of the vote in Congress, he added.
Because a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority to pass, the 224-203 vote on June 4 fell 61 votes short.
"This was a fairly decisive defeat," Swomley said.
Of the United Methodists in Congress, seven Democrats and 22 Republicans voted in favor of the amendment, and 11 Democrats and six Republicans voted against it.
Officially, the United Methodist Church supports the separation of church and state. The 1996 General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, opposed "any government legislation or constitutional amendment that would change our existing First Amendment rights in regard to the use of public funds to support nonpublic elementary and secondary schools where religion is taught or in regard to religious observances in public schools."
One of the leading opponents of the "Istook Amendment" was U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, Texas, who is a United Methodist.
"America already has a religious freedom amendment," Edwards said during the June 4 debate. "It was not written by the gentleman from Oklahoma and passed through this House after less than one day of committee hearings and two hours of floor debate. Rather, it was written by Mr. Madison of Virginia, after debating with Mr. Jefferson for well over a decade, 200 years ago. Those 16 words that begin the First Amendment of our Bill of Rights have served this nation extraordinarily well. We should not change it for the first time today."
While students are allowed some leeway to pray, read the Bible or engage in religious speech in public schools, the Istook Amendment would sanction organized prayer, allow religious symbols on public property and permit the use of tax money for religious activities.
Swomley, a professor emeritus at St. Paul's School of Theology in Kansas City, said the amendment's attempt at "government-sponsored prayer" did not specify who should conduct the prayers, although it banned discrimination against any particular religious group. In theory, he said, a good portion of the school day could be devoted to allotting prayer time to all the groups represented at each school.
But, in Swomley's opinion, the whole point of the Istook Amendment was the desire of the Christian Coalition and other right-wing religious groups to "have a vote to show in the forthcoming elections who voted against it." The amendment's opponents will be targeted in upcoming elections, he said.
Whether their influence will be significant depends on how many voters, outside of the Religious Right, consider organized school prayer to be a crucial issue, according to Swomley. "The real problem is to get the mainline churches out to vote."
# # #
|
Back : News Archives 1998 Main
|
|
“We believe in God and in each other.”The people of The United Methodist Church
Still Have Questions?
If you have any questions Ask
InfoServ
Purchase a $20 buzzkill t-shirt and help save a life
Buy a t-shirt
|
Korean News