[h=2]Amendment I[/h]Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Seems pretty clear.

Thanks for actually quoting something. Unfortunately, no one prohibited the doctor from freely exercising his religious beliefs. His videos are still on youtube, aren't they? No, the Constitution is silent on ramifications of publicized religious free speech.

Thanks for actually quoting something. Unfortunately, no one prohibited the doctor from freely exercising his religious beliefs. His videos are still on youtube, aren't they? No, the Constitution is silent on ramifications of publicized religious free speech.

 

Discrimination. Plain and simple.

So you say it shouldnt enter into public life, correct? Well then how about praying out loud at a restaurant in a public place. Can people pray at work in a public place?

 

I just want us (all of us, which includes religious folk) to follow the same rules. The rules we have are the Constitution, and what the supreme court has ruled the Constitution means.

 

So, you asked about praying out loud at a restaurant. The rules say that is okay, so I do too. The rules prevent the government from endorsing religion. So prayer at public school is a violation (public school equal the government). Prayer at a private school is okay (private school is not the government). This distinction between private and government is confused in this thread, so I thought I would try to make this clear.

 

I really don't know how this applies, if at all, to the person around which this thread started. It sounds like the story is muddled, and perhaps even muddled on purpose in order to make some sort of "point." There are enough legitimate situations to be concerned about.

 

Your other question was prayer at work. It's too general to answer. Why not work while at work? I can say this, people start claiming the "right" to pray at work, and that always, and already has, mushroomed out of control. There should be no "right" to pray at work, and no "right" carved out like that. That is where the separation of church and state come in. If you happen to work for a private employer that allows you to pray on the job, great.

 

Those are my thoughts and opinions, but I believe they are all very consistent with long-established constitutional rules.

So you say it shouldnt enter into public life, correct? Well then how about praying out loud at a restaurant in a public place. Can people pray at work in a public place?

Yes and yes .

So you say it shouldnt enter into public life, correct? Well then how about praying out loud at a restaurant in a public place. Can people pray at work in a public place?

 

You're stretching a bit here. Prayer at a restaurant, is obviously ok, and never been in question. My in laws are devout Catholics and pray out loud before every meal, even at a restaurant. They've never heard a word against it.

 

The workplace is a bit different. The ability to do so is dependent on your employer, especially if praying interrupts wok and is done on company time.

 

As far as this situation, he was working for a government entity, one that has to serve ALL people equally. It would stand to reason, that if one comes out publicly strongly denouncing protected groups, it's not out of line to question his ability to provide fair and equal service.