A California man known for challenging the use of the words “under God” led a group of atheists in recitals of the Pledge of Allegiance at public schools. A lawsuit was filed to bar prayer and all references to God at the swearing in of President elect Barack Obama.
Michael A. Newdow, 17 other individuals, and 10 groups representing atheists, sued Pastor Rick Warren, Rev. Joseph E. Lowery and Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts’ Jr. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court. Newdow tried to remove prayer from President Bush’s swearing in ceremonies in 2001 and also in 2005 through similar lawsuits. Warren and Lowery will deliver the invocation and benediction and Roberts will administer the oath of office to Obama at the Jan. 20th ceremony. The phrase “so help me God,” used in inaugural oaths consistently since the swearing in of President Franklin D. Roosevelt now being argued by Newdow and others that this phrase should be removed because it is not a part of the oath as specified in the Constitution. A staff attorney for the American Humanist Association and counsel for the suit, Bob Ritter stated in an interview that the group could win “as long as the judges uphold the Constitution.” “We think the law is on our side,” he said. According to Ritter the lawsuits targets the oath, invocation and benediction. The lawsuit, the opening and ending prayers “are completely exclusionary, showing absolute disrespect to Plaintiffs and others of similar religious views, who explicitly reject the purely religious claims that will be endorsed, i.e., (a) there exists a God, and (b) the United States government should pay homage to that God.” The legal move is the latest controversy surrounding the swearing-in. Gay-rights advocates and liberal groups were outraged by Obama's selection of Warren, who endorsed Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. Conservatives, meanwhile, have criticized Warren for agreeing to appear at the inauguration. The latest controversy surrounding the swearing in is the legal move where gay-rights advocates and liberal groups were outraged by Obama’s selection of Warren. Warren endorsed Proposition 8, banning gay marriage in California. Conservatives for agreeing to appear at the inauguration criticize Warren.
The Becket Fund executive director for Religious Liberty, Scott Walker called the lawsuit a “publicity stunt.” The Becket Fund opposes Newdow’s Pledge of Allegiance efforts and promotes the free expression of religion.
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