Members of the U.S. Supreme Court passed up an opportunity earlier this week to clarify the role of government in regulating the content of public invocations that have gone on since the founding of the nation.Therefore, the core question remains unanswered: Must the government force prayer-givers to avoid the name of Jesus (or other specific deity names) when they pray before legislative meetings?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said yes, but the rest of the country still says no. That conflict means the Supreme Court may yet weigh in on the question.