User:Floridarabbi/Prayers That Hurt

Prayers That Hurt is the name of a paper written by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, while he was serving as a United States Navy Chaplain, on the subject of public prayer in interfaith settings. It has been widely used in training programs on interfaith sensitivity by civilian and military groups, and frequently cited in discussions of interfaith issues, including at least one court case, in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh District.

It was originally published in 1987, in The Military Chaplain's Review, and republished in an updated form in Curtana: A Journal for the Military Chaplaincy, in 2009.

Synopsis
This paper does not deal with religious prayer within voluntary religious services, it addresses the question of public prayer in interfaith settings, including those conducted under the auspices of the military in particular, or the government in general, especially where attendance might be required or expected. It does not focus on legal questions of separation of church and state, but rather on the impact of "prayers that hurt" -- the term used by the author to refer to prayers that make certain listeners feel excluded -- and on possible approaches for those offering the prayer that might satisfy both their responsibilities and their religious rights.

Education and Training
The paper has been used in training programs for military chaplains, hospital chaplains, and police chaplains, and university chaplains,, and has been listed as a resource for other settings, including reporters who cover stories about religion and the military.

Legal Discussions
In addition to inclusion in the brief for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, mentioned above, the paper has been cited as a resource in both scholarly and legal discussions of the issue, including legal journals such as the West Virginia Law Review