And it came to pass that the once great democracy, the United States of America, saw its Supreme Court become, rather than the upholder and defender of the Constitution and the law, the subservient lackey of the Republican Party just as that Party had become the subservient lackey of the wealthy and powerful. This, of course, is my cynical way of saying the Supreme Court has totally lost its credibility.  I am referring to the latest politically influenced decision that town meetings are constitutionally allowed to open their sessions with prayer.  The Chief Justice stated that prayer is only “symbolic” so it’s no big deal and the other right wing justices said there is a historic precedence because legislative sessions have opened with prayer since the beginning or our nation.  Neither of those arguments have anything to do with constitutionality. (You will recall it was a 5-4 decision split along party lines, not legal lines.) I make no pretenses to being a legal scholar.  But I would like to offer my interpretation of the United States Constitution.  (By the way, the Constitution does not specify requirements for being a Supreme Court Justice.  No age nor citizenship rules are stated not even the requirement to have a law degree so I guess I am qualified.)  Since most Americans have never read the Constitution, here’s what it says about religion: First Amendment—“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”  And in the Third Article of the Constitution itself it says: “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”  In plain language this means that the government cannot establish an official state religion, you can practice any religion you want and candidates do not have to adhere to a specific religion to qualify for office.  But, in a rather devious way, the Republican Party is attempting to establish an official national religion and many Republican politicians are touting their qualification for office by being “devout Christians.”   You might ask, is prayer before a town meeting the establishing of a state religion?  Not in and of itself, but what if you are Jewish, Muslin, Buddhist, atheist or agnostic and your town meeting is asking the blessing of “our personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” You might find that objectionable.  In an oblique way, the local government is imposing a religion on you.  And if you believe a woman has no right to have an abortion and you believe contraceptives are a sin because of your personal religious beliefs and if you push the government to impost yours beliefs, and if the government complies with your demands, then the government is effectively imposing the establishment of a state religion which is specifically prohibited by the Constitution. Of course, the only “government” that would impose those religious restrictions would be Republican. We will find out how much sway the religious Republicans hold over the Supreme Court when it will decide whether an employer can deny insurance coverage for contraceptives or abortions on the basis of religious beliefs.  If the Court allows that, it will, in effect, be another step towards establishing a state religion, which, of course, is against the Constitution.