Contact: Rich Hobson, Foundation for Moral Law, 334-262-1245

MEDIA ADVISORY, Sept. 9 /Christian Newswire/ -- Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and the Foundation for Moral Law, a religious liberties legal organization in Montgomery, Alabama, filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit today defending the prayer policy of the Indian River School Board in Delaware.  A lower court upheld the school board prayers and, now on appeal, the Foundation argues that public prayer does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

Read the Foundation's brief in Doe v. Indian River School District.

Judge Roy Moore noted:

"Members of the Indian River School Board in Delaware have every right to open their meetings with prayer.  After all, Congress opens with prayer, as does the U.S. Supreme Court.  How hypocritical it would be to deny a local school board that same freedom.  It is time that we come to the realization that prayer to Almighty God is not now, nor has it ever been, unconstitutional."

The Foundation argued in its brief that courts should apply the text of the Establishment Clause, as it would have been understood by the people that ratified it, to determine the constitutionality of the School Board's prayer policy, rather than rely on case tests like the Lemon test and others.  In this case, the Indian River School Board prayer policy is not a "law respecting an establishment of religion" and should be upheld.

To view other legal briefs defending public prayer or other acknowledgments of God, visit the Foundation's Legal Cases page.

The Foundation for Moral Law, a national non-profit legal organization, is located in Montgomery, Alabama, and is dedicated to restoring the knowledge of God in law and government through litigation and education relating to moral issues and religious liberty cases.