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North Carolina District Court Lifts Ban Against Praying in Jesus' Name

  • Amanda Casanova

    Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and…

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  • Updated Nov 24, 2014

A federal district court reversed its order against the prayer policy of Forsyth County, North Carolina after a Supreme Court decision affirmed prayer.

The order in North Carolina required the county to censor people’s prayers at public meetings. Only generic prayers would be allowed.

"All Americans should have the liberty to pray without being censored, just as the Supreme Court found only a few months ago, and we are delighted to see this freedom restored in Forsyth County," said ADF Senior Counsel Brett Harvey. "The Supreme Court affirmed the freedom of Americans to pray according to their consciences before public meetings. For that reason, the district court was right to lift its previous order against Forsyth County's prayer policy, which is clearly constitutional."

In May, the Supreme Court decided that Americans are free to pray however they like at public meetings in a case from Greece, New York.

"Our tradition assumes that adult citizens, firm in their own beliefs, can tolerate and perhaps appreciate a ceremonial prayer delivered by a person of a different faith," the court wrote.

It all started in March 2007 when the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued the Forsyth County Commission because they said they were offended by prayers that included the word “Jesus Christ” or other deities.

Publication date: November 24, 2014