The Presiding Bishop of the Protestant and Episcopal Church in the United States said today he was in full agreement with the United States Supreme Court ruling last June, which outlawed recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in the public schools.
The Rev. Arthur Lichtenberger made his statement on a visit here before going on to Toronto for the World Anglican Congress there. He added that some Episcopalians approved of the Supreme Court ruling and some did not.
“The Lord’s Prayer is not necessarily a mark of religious faith,” he asserted. “The Supreme Court decision was not a denial of the Christian faith–it simply put it in proper perspective. The United States is a secular state of minorities.” He added that he felt the ban on prayer recital “has opened the way for the objective study of religion.”
His comments came against a background of repeated statements in the local diocesan Anglican monthly, strongly upholding religious instruction in public schools, which is permitted in the Province of Ontario. The Bishop of Huron has denounced persons he said tried to “interfere” by pressing for modification or abolition of such teachings in Ontario schools.
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