An Indiana federal judge yesterday reaffirmed his decision to forbid prayers to be offered that use Jesus' name in the state House of Representatives.

U.S. District Judge David Hamilton rejected a request by Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma to review the original Nov. 30 ruling. Bosma claimed the directive was too vague to enforce. Ruling on a suit brought by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, Hamilton said that "using Christ's name or title" or referring to a "savior" amounted to a state endorsement of religion.

Opponents of the judge's action plan to appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

The Indianapolis star reported Hamilton issued a warning yesterday:

"If the speaker or those offering prayers seek to evade the injunction through indirect but well understood expressions of specifically Christian beliefs, the audience, the public and the court will be able to see what is happening. In that unlikely event, the court will be able to take appropriate measures to enforce" the injunction.

The judge ruled that having a predominance of Christian prayers in the state House illegally advanced one religion over all others. Prayers are normally offered by visiting members of the clergy; when one is not present, a lawmaker says the opening prayer.

"[O]fficial prayers that endorse Christianity in general violate the Establishment Clause," Hamilton stated yesterday.

"The forces that want to take religious faith out of our government and our society are nibbling away at our liberty,'' Bosma said after the original ruling. "They got a big bite with this one. We have done nothing different here than what's happened for 188 years.''

The Indianapolis Star's editorial board opined Dec. 2: "Hamilton was terribly intolerant of those Christians who believe that their faith instructs them to pray in the name of Jesus Christ.''

According to a Bloomberg report, during 2005, Christian clergy led 41 of the 53 prayers that opened House sessions, and 29 of the 45 prayers with transcripts referred to Jesus, Savior or Son, court documents show.

Bosma says he is prepared to fight the prayer battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if needed.

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