In what must be seen as a near-miss, the Supreme Court ruled that public officials could open public meetings with a prayer.

I’m thrilled, don’t get me wrong. It’s a victory for religious freedom. But the ruling was 5-4. That’s a sobering thought. The Supreme Court was one judge away from seriously curbing religious freedom. What four justices essentially said was that if you’re an elected official you give up your right to express your religion at public meetings.

But here’s the thing -say the town council is all Christians. Are they supposed to pray a Hindu prayer at one meeting, a Buddhist one at the next, an Islamic prayer at the next, and then maybe just maybe a Christian one. That is, of course, after the Zoroastrian one takes place.

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*subhead*Close call.*subhead*