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[quote=Anonymous]Judges have sometimes been caught making a point of opening court with an expressly Christian prayer. If you're an atheist in that courtroom, you have to either pretend to be Christian or risk offending the judge hearing your case.

Judicial Prayer Sessions are Constitutional
According to the Fifth Circuit, prayer in the courtroom does not violate the Establishment Clause because “public, government-sponsored prayer has long enjoyed a place in American life.”

Texas judge's courtroom prayer ceremonies upheld by U.S. appeals court

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/texas-judges-courtroom-prayer-ceremonies-upheld-by-us-appeals-court-2022-09-30/

5th Circuit upholds Texas judge's daily courtroom prayer ceremonies
Practice was challenged by Freedom from Religion Foundation
(Reuters) - A Christian minister-turned-judge who promised to establish prayer in his Texas courtroom during his campaign can continue opening his court each day with a ceremony that includes a prayer from a revolving group of chaplains, a divided U.S. appeals court has ruled.

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a 2-1 vote on Thursday rejected claims by a group representing atheists and agnostics that Texas Justice of the Peace Wayne Mack's daily prayer ceremonies were unconstitutional.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation and a lawyer sued in 2019 over Mack's practice of starting each court day with a few minutes for prayers delivered by faith leaders who participate in a volunteer chaplaincy program that he launched after being elected as a judge in Montgomery County.

Lawyers and litigants can attend but are told they do not have to, and afterwards a bailiff tells anyone in the lobby that court is about to start. But the plaintiffs argued litigants and lawyers risk upsetting Mack by not participating.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt in Houston last year agreed the courtroom prayers violated the prohibition in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution on the government "establishing" a religion.

But U.S. Circuit Judge Jerry Smith pointed to historical examples of courtroom prayer dating back to the 1700s in finding that Mack's ceremonies were lawful under a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Town of Greece v. Galloway, that provided leeway for prayers before government meetings.

In a statement, she said the court recognized "that the history, character, and context of his opening ceremony—which includes welcoming volunteer chaplains of all faiths to lead invocations according to the diverse traditions of those faiths—comports with the Constitution."

Sam Grover, a lawyer with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, did not respond to a request for comment.

Judges can and do pray in court. Your argument already lost.

Also- how does a judge find the atheist who isn’t praying in his courtroom? Does the judge say: bow your heads and pray, and then not bow his head and scan the court room for non-pray-ers?

You are either ridiculously misinformed, in denial, or willfully ignorant throughout your entire post. [/quote]

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