The chaplain of the United States Senate is chosen to "perform ceremonial, symbolic, and pastoral duties.

"[5] According to Robert C. Byrd in his book The Senate: 1789-1989, "The Duties that chaplains perform...are not all written down, but they are numerous and have evolved over the centuries.

[15][16] Guest chaplains have been selected to deliver occasional prayers to open Senate sessions "for many decades.

"[1] In 1948 Wilmina Rowland Smith became the first female guest chaplain to deliver the opening prayer,[1][17] in 1992 Warith Deen Mohammed was the first Muslim,[18][19] in 2007 Rajan Zed was the first Hindu,[4] and in 2014 Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama was the first Buddhist.

[8][22] The inclusion of a prayer before the opening of each session of both the House and the Senate, traces its origins back to the days of the Continental Congress, and the official recommendation of Benjamin Franklin, June 28, 1787: “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God Governs in the affairs of men.

I therefore beg leave to move— that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that Service.”[23]Shortly after the Senate first convened in April 1789 in New York City, one of its "first orders of business" was to convene a committee to recommend a chaplain, selecting the Right Reverend Samuel Provoost, Episcopal Bishop of New York.

[7][24] When the Senate moved to Philadelphia the next year, the Right Reverend William White, that city's Episcopal bishop was selected.

[24] In 1970 New Jersey Senator Harrison A. Williams "reminded his colleagues of James Madison's strong objection when the post was created in 1793", and "noted the modern fulfillment of another of Madison's warnings, that there would inevitably be discrimination in the appointment of such a chaplain against the (then) smaller denominations such as Catholics and Jews.

[citation needed] Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama became the first Buddhist to lead the Senate in prayer, and as of 2014 was the highest religious official to do so.

[18] Opponents have argued that it violates the separation of church-and-state and proponents have argued, among other factors, that the same early legislators who wrote the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights, from which the position of "non-establishment" and church and state separation is derived, were the same ones who approved and appointed the chaplains.

[18] President James Madison was an example of a leader who ultimately came to think that the positions of Senate and House chaplains could not be constitutionally supported, although whether he always held this view (and to what extent he believed it at various times during his life) is a subject of debate.

[18] However it is clear from his "Detached Memoranda" writings during his retirement that he had come to believe the positions could not be justified: Is the appointment of Chaplains to the two Houses of Congress consistent with the Constitution, and with the pure principle of religious freedom?

The Court cited the practice going back to the Continental Congress in 1774 and noted that the custom "is deeply embedded in the history and tradition of this country" from colonial times and the founding of the republic.

Further, the Court held that the use of prayer "has become part of the fabric of our society," coexisting with "the principles of disestablishment and religious freedom."

[1]In 2000, a C-SPAN "public affairs on the web" response to the question of constitutional challenges noted that: In 1983, the Supreme Court upheld the practice of having an official chaplain as deeply ingrained in the history and tradition of this country.

For example, in 2007 Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black canceled his scheduled appearance at the "Evangelical conference" "Reclaiming America for Christ.

"[28] According to news reports, "Black reconsidered his appearance after "Americans United for Separation of Church and State" objected.

[28] Black announced he had reconsidered his participation because it would not be appropriate considering the Senate chaplain's "historic tradition of being nonpolitical, nonpartisan, nonsectarian.

"[29] In 1984, Dr. Paul Kurtz, "a professor of philosophy and advocate of secular humanism," sued the government in a case that reached the United States Supreme Court for the right to offer comments in place of the prayer that would normally be delivered by the Senate chaplain or guest chaplain.

[22] In 2007, the prayer delivered by Rajan Zed, the first Hindu guest chaplain was briefly interrupted by protestors described by news reports as members of the Christian Right.

[31][32] He previously served as Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy, holding the rank of Rear Admiral.