Ala. bill mandates “Judeo-Christian” prayer in schools, threatens funding cut for non-compliance

The Old Alabama Capitol building in Montgomery

The Alabama legislature is considering a bill that would mandate “Judeo-Christian” prayer in the state’s public school classrooms — with a 25 percent reduction in state education funding as an enforcement mechanism for districts that fail to comply.

House Bill 231, introduced by Rep. Reed Ingram, a Pike Road Republican, fashioned the bill as a constitutional amendment, requiring a three-fifths vote by the two legislative chambers, followed by a referendum on the next statewide ballot.

The bill was sent to the House Committee on State Government on Feb. 6, clearing the committee on Feb. 12.

The bill apparently builds on a 2022 law that mandates the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of each day, but had no penalties for non-compliance. Ingram’s bill calls for “requiring that The Pledge of Allegiance be conducted to the United States flag and a prayer consistent with Judeo-Christian values be conducted at the commencement of each school day in each public K-12 school.”

The bill does not define or specify any examples of a “prayer representative of the Judeo-Christian values upon which the United States was founded.”

Rabbi Scott Looper of Temple Beth Or in Montgomery said it won’t be easy to come up with examples. “The term ‘Judeo-Christian’ is not representative of Judaism, nor of common Jewish usage.  It describes a Christian faith idea in which the Jewish bible (Old Testament for some) is mined for its ethical dictates.  However, the Jewish interpretation of each ethical command is not present in Christian interpretation.”

He added that “any suggestion that Judeo-Christian prayer is neutral for Jews and Christians is incorrect,” not to mention how it ignores the concerns of Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist and other communities.

At its most basic, if a prayer is done in Jesus’ name, it instantly excludes the Jewish community.

Rep. Phil Ensler of Montgomery, the only Jewish member of the Alabama Legislature, says he has “deep concerns” over the constitutionality of the bill, as it excludes students and teachers who are not Christian.

“Our public schools should be inclusive environments in which people of all faiths are welcome,” Ensler said. “As a proud Jew and former Teach for America corps member in Montgomery Public Schools, I would have felt excluded every day if such a prayer was required when I was in the classroom.”

He added that the punitive aspect of the bill would “have devastating consequences” on school systems, and the legislature should focus on ways to support all students.

The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation has vowed to challenge the law in court, if it passes. “This bill is an outrageous attempt to impose religion on captive public school students even as young as 5,” said FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Public schools exist to educate, not to evangelize. Religious instruction should be left to the home, where it belongs.”

During the committee hearing, Ingram said there would be no penalty for any student who refused to participate, just for schools that refuse to follow what would then be the state law. The bill says this requires schools “to give all students the opportunity to voluntarily recite” the Pledge and the prayer.

Violations would be reported to the State Department of Education, and the State Superintendent would be required to withhold 25 percent of state funding “to the offending local board of education” if there is “a continued pattern of intentional refusal to comply.”

Violations after that would be subject to further funding cuts by the Legislature.

Ingram did not respond to requests for comment from this publication.

Prayer will be “contagious”

In an interview with the Alabama Citizens Action Program’s Priority Talk, Ingram said when he was a student, prayer and the Pledge were “as common as going to lunch.”

“A lot of things were better back then,” he said. “You had a lot better attendance at church, a lot better attendance in the military… We need to get back to those morals, back to the basics.”

He envisions schools having it led over the intercom or through in-classroom volunteers.

In the interview, he said “the prayer is based on Christianity. We don’t want it to get out of line, this is what this country was built on. The kids don’t have to participate, they just can’t be interruptive.”

He admitted that not every student would want to participate, citing how Hyundai and other international companies are in his district, and “you can’t make that kid say the Pledge when they are from another country.”

Even in terms of prayer, “as long as the kid is silent, they don’t have to participate,” he said. “But I think it will be contagious once we start doing it, I think they will want to do it. And when they go home, their momma and daddy, maybe they will want to say the Grace before they eat… hey mom, let’s take me to church, I kind of like this, these people there are praying, are good people.”

Ingram added that doing this as a constitutional amendment would help in any court challenge, as he could point to it as being supported by a vast majority of the state.

During the interview, he did not use the term “Judeo-Christian.”