Religion: The Politics of Prayer

Clergy debates the President's constitutional amendment

The clergy ought to be the last group to argue about prayer. Instead, it is among the foremost. Last week religious leaders of many major denominations gathered before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify loudly for and against President Reagan's proposed constitutional amendment legalizing prayer in the public schools.

Support for the Reagan amendment was the prime topic at a Washington "profamily" strategy session of the religious right. Meanwhile, opponents unveiled a new coalition of 72 organizations at, naturally, a prayer breakfast. Buddhists and American Indians turned out...

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