{"id":1737,"date":"2011-06-01T22:13:39","date_gmt":"2011-06-02T02:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/?p=1737"},"modified":"2011-06-01T22:37:55","modified_gmt":"2011-06-02T02:37:55","slug":"judge-tells-feds-they-cant-dictate-how-we-pray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/06\/judge-tells-feds-they-cant-dictate-how-we-pray.html","title":{"rendered":"Judge tells feds they can’t dictate how we pray"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A federal judge has told federal veterans officials that they have no business telling anybody how to pray \u2013 and must drop their ban on prayers that conclude \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong>U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes told the director of the Houston National Cemetery and Department of Veterans Affairs officials\u00a0that they could not block Houston pastor Scott Rainey from invoking the name of Jesus Christ in a Memorial Day prayer.<\/p>\n

Rainey\u00a0sought a restraining order against federal officials\u00a0after he was given guidelines about how he could pray, according to Houston radio station KHOU.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes said, according to CNN, that the government cannot “gag citizens when it says it is in the interest of national security, and it cannot do it in some bureaucrat’s notion of cultural homogeneity.”<\/p>\n

Pastor Rainey had offered\u00a0an invocation\u00a0during Memorial Day ceremonies at Houston cemetery for several years. This year, however,\u00a0cemetery director Arleen Ocasio informed Raney that she wanted to see a copy of the prayer ahead of time. Rainey’s prayer included the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and thanked Jesus in closing. Ocasio returned the prayer to Rainey, saying it was inappropriate.<\/p>\n

“While it is very well written, I must ask you to edit it,” Ocasio informed him. “The tone of all messages must be inclusive of all beliefs, need to be general and its fundamental purpose should be specific to those we are honoring, and non-denominational in nature.”<\/p>\n

She informed Rainey that if he wanted to give the invocation, he would have to comply.<\/p>\n

“I’ve never said a prayer in my life that didn’t end with Jesus Christ,” Rainey said. “It was unrealistic expectation for me not to include the name of Jesus Christ.”<\/p>\n

So, he\u00a0sought an injunction\u00a0against the agency, claiming the government was censoring his speech. He asked the\u00a0federal court\u00a0to stop officials from dictating how he could pray.<\/p>\n

According to United Press International, Rainey argued in the federal hearing that\u00a0how he\u00a0prays is\u00a0protected by the First Amendment’s guarantees of\u00a0free speech. The federal judge agreed with him.<\/p>\n

Hours after the judge sided with him, the government backed off. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Hindrichs assured Judge Hughes verbally that veterans officials \u201cwill not demand that Memorial Day prayers at Houston National Cemetery be as non-denominational as possible,\u201d reported Terri Langford in the Houston Chronicle.<\/em><\/p>\n

“The agency will let the prayer go on,” Hindrichs told the judge.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Federal Judge Hughes granted\u00a0the temporary restraining order.\u00a0Hughes said that while he was not doubting the government’s word, he was “an experienced optimist” who didn’t want to leave room for the government to change its mind before the Memorial Day ceremony.<\/p>\n

The judge warned the agency it had stepped too far, saying officials were essentially “decreeing how citizens honor their veterans.”<\/p>\n

Attorney Jeff Mateer who represented Pastor Rainey, applauded the ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe judge rightly and strongly ruled that the VA\u2019s attempt to censor Pastor Rainey\u2019s prayer violates the Constitution and dishonors the veterans Memorial Day is meant to honor,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are glad that the government conceded that its position against Pastor Rainey\u2019s prayer is wrong.’<\/p>\n

Pastor Rainey said that while he was disappointed that it took legal action to enforce his position, \u201cI am glad that the judge agreed that removing Jesus\u2019 name from my prayer is unconstitutional. I am honored to be allowed to pray in the name of Jesus at this somber remembrance of our nation\u2019s fallen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A federal judge has told federal veterans officials that they have no business telling anybody how to pray \u2013 and must drop their ban on prayers that conclude \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes told the director of the Houston National Cemetery and Department of Veterans Affairs officials\u00a0that they could not block Houston…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[155,193,71,107,12,102],"tags":[105,425,222,377,221],"class_list":["post-1737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christians","category-free-speech","category-news","category-political-correctness","category-prayer","category-u-s-constitution","tag-first-amendment","tag-free-speech","tag-memorial-day","tag-prayer","tag-veterans-affairs"],"yoast_head":"\nJudge tells feds they can't dictate how we pray - On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/06\/judge-tells-feds-they-cant-dictate-how-we-pray.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge tells feds they can't dictate how we pray - On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A federal judge has told federal veterans officials that they have no business telling anybody how to pray \u2013 and must drop their ban on prayers that conclude \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes told the director of the Houston National Cemetery and Department of Veterans Affairs officials\u00a0that they could not block Houston…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/06\/judge-tells-feds-they-cant-dictate-how-we-pray.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-06-02T02:13:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-06-02T02:37:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/files\/2011\/06\/Memorial_Day_20110526215225_320_240.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Judge tells feds they can't dictate how we pray - 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