A prayer in the U.S. Capitol sparked a unique religion controversy

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House Speaker Mike Johnson sparked an unusual religion controversy last week when he recited a prayer in front of Congress after being reelected as speaker of the House.

The problem, at least according to some scholars, wasn’t that he prayed in the U.S. Capitol. It was that he claimed to be quoting former President Thomas Jefferson.

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/01/06/house-speaker-mike-johnson-jefferson-prayer/

Not only did Johnson  attribute the prayer to Jefferson, but if you read the quote from Jefferson in the article, you'll see that, most likely, he would have disapproved of offering prayers in such a venue.

In fact, James Madison, who's commonly known as the father of the Constitution, thought that it was unconstitutional for Congress to have chaplains.