Ohio House Speaker to allow sectarian prayer before sessions

House Speaker to allow sectarian prayer before sessions


COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio's House speaker will ignore a 12-year-old guideline that prayers given by visiting clergy before legislative sessions be nonsectarian and non-denominational, although he asks that they not mention specific legislation or advocate certain positions.

The policy could rest on uncertain legal ground, as some courts have ruled that legislative prayer should not proselytize or reference a specific deity. Other courts, however, have said sectarian prayer is constitutional - as long as legislators allow prayers from various religions.

House Speaker Jon Husted, a Republican from Kettering, spent the summer mulling over the prayer policy after a prayer by a visiting clergy member in May caused two Democrats to walk off the chamber floor. The prayer invoked Jesus' name, spoke favorably of church-sponsored schools and referenced pending legislation clamping down on strip-club operations.

Each House session starts with a prayer. The new policy went into effect when legislators returned to the house in September after their summer recess.

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There's no difference. So-called nonsectarian or non-denominational prayers are still a violation of the Constitution.