Judge Roy Moore and Foundation for Moral Law File Brief in Federal Appeals Court Arguing that Indiana House of Representatives May Open Sessions with Prayer in the Name of Jesus
May 17, 2006

Case: Hinrichs v. Bosma

Former Chief Justice Roy Moore and the Foundation for Moral Law have filed an amicus curiae brief asking the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to allow the Indiana Legislature to continue the practice of opening their sessions with prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. In the case, Anthony Hinrichs v. Brian Bosma , a federal district court judge struck down a long-held practice of the Indiana Legislature opening their sessions with prayer. Attorneys Greg Jones and Ben DuPré argued for the Foundation that the federal courts should go by the text of the U.S. Constitution and not their own feelings and predilections. ( Click here to see the brief. )

Legislative prayers are not and never have been prohibited by the First Amendment, and are an important part of our American heritage and our continuing reliance upon Almighty God.

This same situation is occurring throughout our Nation. Just recently, Judge Moore appeared with Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt in our Nation's Capital protesting the Naval policy forbidding prayers in the name of Jesus.

Judge Moore, the Foundation's Chairman, stated: “Our religious liberty is threatened at the hands of federal courts who misinterpret and wrongfully use the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to take away our unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience.”

The Foundation for Moral Law will continue to remind federal judges that the First Amendment does not require the government to stifle Christian faith; rather, it protects religious faith from the government.