Is it illegal to do prayer before starting a meeting? It is settled law that the First Amendment preserves the right of the people to engage in personal religious observances (or not) from government intervention or intimidation. The Supreme Court strengthened this 248-year-old tenet when, most recently in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, it held that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment protects all individuals—including public employees like school teachers—to live out their faiths in public without fear of government reprisal.
While it is uncontroversial to say that the government cannot generally compel people to practice or abstain from religious observances, what about private businesses? Could a business require certain religious observances, like prayer sessions before every meeting, in the workplace?
Can Private Business Require Prayer Sessions?
While the First Amendment prevents the government from dictating how you can practice your personal religious beliefs, it holds little sway in private workplaces where the employer has the right to conduct business how it pleases—including determining the business’ religious affiliation and practices. However, that doesn’t mean a private employer can require its employees to partake in prayer sessions. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outright prohibits private employers from harassing, discriminating, and retaliating against employees on the basis of religious differences.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) further outlines what is permissible and what is not permissible in terms of religious observance in private workplaces. The EEOC makes it clear that the law requires an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause a substantial burden to the business. This means that the employer must make reasonable accommodations to allow an employee to practice their religion in a way they so choose. In essence, workplace prayers are allowed as long as they do not compel employees to join. Employment contingent upon mandatory prayer sessions fall squarely within the bucket of violations Title VII seeks to prevent.
Legal Consequences of Title VII Violations
Compelling religious observances like workplace prayer could lead to significant legal consequences. In 2022, the EEOC sued Aurora Renovations and Developments, LLC—a North Carolina-based company—for requiring its employees to participate in religious prayer sessions as a condition of employment, and actively retaliated against those who opposed the practice and failed to attend. The suit ended in a settlement, with Aurora agreement to pay $50,000 in relief to settle the Title VII religious harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claim. Aurora was also required to implement new anti-discrimination, non-retaliation, and religious accommodation policies, and to provide training on the matter to all managers and employees.
The EEOC takes its religious discrimination lawsuits seriously. In 2013, Dynamic Medical Services, In., a Miami-based company, agreed to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit and was ordered to pay $170,000 in relief to the aggrieved employees. The offense? The company required multiple employees to spend at least half of their workdays in Church of Scientology courses, which included activities such as screaming at ashtrays or staring at someone for eight hours without moving. If an employee refused to attend these sessions, they would be immediately terminated.
Mandating prayers before a business meeting may not seem as extreme a violation as this case, but it is a violation nonetheless, and could lead to significant EEOC fines and other penalties.
So, Should You Have Prayer Sessions Before Your Meetings?
The law shows us that as long as an employer is not requiring or forcing its employees to partake in religious observances, any voluntary prayer sessions will most likely not rise to a Title VII religious discrimination violation. That being said, unless your business is evidently religious, incorporating voluntary prayer sessions may make certain employees uncomfortable; while prayer wouldn’t be mandatory, employees may feel compelled to join regardless, for fear of any potential retaliation if they failed to do so. This could lead to lower employee morale, decreased workplace trust and collaboration, and even employee departures.
At the end of the day, you know your business better than anyone else. If you believe your workspace would benefit from voluntary prayer sessions before certain events like executive meetings and quarterly reviews, you may, as long as they adhere to the requirements of Title VII and the EEOC.
For more information on matters like this one, that might affect your business, consult with an experienced legal professional.
