Major Jewish religious and civic organizations joined in a law brief submitted to the United States Supreme Court today challenging the constitutionality of the Regents’ Prayer used in New York schools. The case will be argued before the high court Thursday, or next Monday.
The “friend-of-the-court” brief argues that recitation of the prayer in public schools violates religious freedom and separation of church and state as guaranteed in the First Amendment. It supports a petition by five New Hyde Park, Long Island, parents seeking an injunction against their local school board to prohibit recitation of the so-called “non-sectarian” prayer, which reads: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country.”
The brief was submitted by the Joint Advisory Committee of the Synagogue Council of America, representing both the rabbinical and congregational bodies of Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Judaism, and the National Community Relations Advisory Council, composed of 61 local Jewish community councils across the country and six national Jewish religious and human relations agencies.
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