Contact: Sandy Cass, 866-508-2232; Sharaya, sharaya@christianadc.org; both for the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission

MEDIA ADVISORY, March 13 /Christian Newswire/ -- "It's very troubling for the government to dictate what kind of prayers Christians can or cannot offer in the public forum," says Dr. Gary Cass. "Jesus taught His disciples to pray to the Father in His name. To require Christians to not pray in the name of Jesus Christ is asking them to pray contrary to their faith. By what authority does the Government deny Christians their First Amendment right to pray according to the dictates of their conscience?"

Reverend Hashmel Turner, a member of the Fredericksburg, Virginia city council, was threatened with lawsuits by from many secular anti-Christian groups, including the ACLU, for his Christian prayers during a council meeting. Turner was apart of a rotation of all the council members who would take turns praying at the council meetings. His case is currently making it's way to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on March 19, and would allow Christians the right to pray "in Jesus' name" in the public forum. This case will have a tremendous impact on city councils and state legislatures throughout the United States.

"Just because somebody objects to praying in Jesus' name does not mean that should Christians must deny their faith to accommodate another person's opposing beliefs. This is discrimination," said Dr. Cass. "Over 80% of American's self-identify as Christians, but Hindu's, Muslim's and Jew's have all prayed in the public forum and no one has restricted the content of their prayers and the ACLU has not threatened them.

"The majority of Christians are subjected to non-Christian prayers, why are Christians told what they can or cannot pray? This is simply anti-Christian bigotry and an attempt to deny free speech for Christians," said Cass.

The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission is a non-profit organization devoted to protecting the rights of Christians to confidently live their faith. Dr. Gary Cass has degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as Executive Director of the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, an outreach of Coral Ridge Ministries founded by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy.

To schedule an interview with Dr. Gary Cass, contact Sandy Cass at (866) 508-2232.