Obama Administration to Appeal Ruling Against Day of Prayer

The Obama administration will appeal a court decision that found the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.

A federal judge in Wisconsin has ruled the National Day of Prayer that Congress established 58 years ago amounts to a call for religious action. About two dozen members of Congress have condemned the ruling and pressed for an appeal.

In a notice filed Thursday, the Justice Department said it will challenge the decision in the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

President Obama is the principal defendant in the lawsuit. The case was brought by atheists and agnostics who argue that the National Day of Prayer violates the separation of church and state. The administration says the law simply acknowledges the role of religion in the United States.