A small viral tempest blew up this past week after a Pennsylvania state representative opened the legislative session with a prayer that was, shall we say, far from the usual exercise in spiritual inclusion. First-term Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R- Centre/Clinton) invoked Jesus’ name 13 times in a way that seemed designed to send a message to Movita Johnson-Harrell, who after a special election in Philadelphia was about to be sworn in as the first Muslim woman to serve in the Pennsylvania legislature....

OK. Like it or not, American politicians have, since the beginning of the republic, invoked the Deity when engaged in civil religious discourse. But since the founding fathers, they have habitually steered clear of Jesus’ name.
The Declaration of Independence does not mention Jesus, but “nature’s God,” “Creator,” and “the Supreme Judge of the world.” Abraham Lincoln put “under God,” not “under Jesus,” in the Gettysburg Address. Periodic attempts in Congress to amend the Constitution to recognize the law and authority of Jesus Christ (most recently in the early 1950s) have always gone nowhere....