why shouldnt govt meetings start w a prayer?

[needledriver]

7. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,

or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”

Congress can’t establish any particular official religion. Congress also can’t prohibit people from exercising a religion. Government meetings are held by people - people who may wish to exercise their freedom of religion. It may be customary to open a meeting with a short speech dedicated to the success of the meeting and the well being of people both present and absent from the meeting. As long as the government does not require a specific prayer to a particular flavor of Bronze Age sky fairy - which is to say that the opportunity to give the short opening speech gets rotated among those, either religious or not, who wish to give it - I see no issue with someone offering sincere good wishes for health and success regardless whether it’s a prayer, an invocation, or whatever.

Now if I could just figure out a way to get In The Bronze Age Sky Fairy We Trust off our money…