Washington, DC, November 16, 1995...The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on Congress to reject a proposed Religious Equality Amendment, introduced yesterday by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL).

David H. Strassler, ADL National Chairman, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

We believe Congress and the American people should reject this destructive constitutional amendment with an appealing name. This proposed amendment is nothing more than a cleverly-packaged effort to overturn numerous Supreme Court precedents on prayer in schools and church-state separation.

We already have a Constitutional Amendment to protect religious expression -- the First Amendment. This new proposal would threaten religious liberty by eroding the essential separation between church and state.

We understand that many who advocate school prayer see it as a means of addressing a perceived moral vacuum in our society. We support teaching American children moral values, but one such value must be respect for our differences. In a pluralistic, religiously and ethnically diverse society, no matter how troubled, a school prayer constitutional amendment is not the answer.

In April, ADL joined a broad interreligious coalition of 35 groups in releasing "A Joint Statement of Current Law" on religion in the public schools. This document was later adapted by President Clinton and the Department of Education for distribution to every school district in America.

Religion and religious views have not been banned from public school classrooms. The document released last April -- ironically signed by some of the same groups who are now promoting this new constitutional amendment -- demonstrates clearly that there is no need for a constitutional amendment on public religious expression or school prayer.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.