JEFFERSON CITY — The passage of Amendment 2 with a stunning 83 percent of the vote in the Aug. 7 primary election was cheered by Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) leaders who worked hard for its passage.
“This is the very first time that any state has voted on this issue since the early 1960s, when prayer was removed from public schools,” said Kerry Messer, legislative liaison for the Christian Life Commission (CLC) of the MBC. “The nation has been held hostage to the U.S. Supreme Court on this front for over 50 years. This is the first time we’ve had a credible measure of what citizens think about that topic.”
In some counties, the “yes” vote on the amendment soared to unprecedented heights. For example, in Cape Girardeau County it rose to 91 percent.
David Krueger, chairman of the MBC Christian Life Commission (CLC) and pastor of First Baptist Church, Linn, noted the significance of this victory.
“I think that this amendment becomes a model for other states,” Krueger said.
“We needed it. I’m glad it passed. It’s sad that we had to have it, because for 50 years the Supreme Court has had conflicting decisions regarding freedom of religion. The CLC is very pleased with this historic show of support for the amendment.”
MBC Executive Director John Yeats said the vote was “indicative of the sentiments held by so many people who live and work in the heartland.” Yeats, who also serves as recording secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), is delighted that so many citizens voted for common sense principles.
“The confusing decisions by the state and federal courts and the potential threat of litigation by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United have intimidated, until now, many good people into being silent in the public square,” he said. “This decision demonstrates the reality that Missourians understand that our Constitutional religious liberties are valuable and viable at the church house, the work house, the state house and the schoolhouse.”
Amendment 2 guarantees the right of Missourians to pray and worship on public property and to choose any or no religion. According to Messer, it outlines the parameters of religious liberties in three areas—the students’ rights to pray in public schools and include biblical materials in classroom assignments, the right of local governments to allow invocations or invite area ministers to open their public meetings with prayer, and the right of school leaders to post the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution in every Missouri public school.
In the 186,000 bulletin inserts distributed by the MBC to affiliated churches statewide, the effect of passing the amendment was outlined in the following manner:
• Children will have the right to pray voluntarily in public school;
• Citizens will have the right to pray and to acknowledge God in public settings and on public property;
• Elected officials will have the right to pray and acknowledge God in public meetings and public ceremonies;
• Students will have the right to express their belief in God in their school work and classroom discussions; and
• Students will have the right to decline participation in school assignments or programs that violate their religious beliefs.
Messer said the Aug. 7 result was a triumph of perseverance.
“It took us 12 years to get it through the state legislature so we could have it on the ballot for Missouri voters to vote on,” he said. “Most activists don’t stay involved on a project that long.
“Many missionaries go to difficult fields and work for many, many years without seeing a single convert. That doesn’t mean they’re a failure. That means they’re a success because they’ve stuck it out. They’ve done what God’s told them to do. Other states can do what Missouri has done. All they need to do is have a small number of people who are very committed to this type of a project.”