Freedom of Religion - Part 2

* A federal court in the District of Columbia ruled that the offering of prayers in both houses of Congress did not violate the first amendment's nonestablishment of religion clause. An atheist sued the federal government, claiming that legislative prayers in each house of Congress violated the first amendment's nonestablishment of religion clause. Each house of Congress has a chaplain elected by its members. The chaplains, and their staffs, receive a federal salary. The plaintiff asked a federal district court to ban prayers in Congress, and to abolish legislative chaplains. The court dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the plaintiff lacked "standing" to challenge the practices he opposed, and that these practices did not offend the first amendment. It relied on a 1983 United States Supreme Court ruling (Chambers v. Marsh) that found the employment of chaplains by the Nebraska legislature ...