[7] Does the town of Greece, New York, impose an impermissible establishment of religion by opening its monthly board meetings with a prayer?

In the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy wrote that: "The town of Greece does not violate the First Amendment by opening its meetings with prayer that comports with our tradition and does not coerce participation by nonadherents.

"[1] This means that prayers are allowed to invoke particular religious affiliations without running afoul of the First Amendment prohibition against endorsement of religion at federal, state or local level.

[16] Specifically, he argued that the town did not make a significant effort to inform non-Christian clergy about this event, and thus eventually marginalized religious minority populations.

[9] Kagan noted three key differences between the case before the Court and Marsh (1983):[9] Noting these differences, Kagan wrote: "So month in and month out for over a decade, prayers steeped in only one faith, addressed toward members of the public, commenced meetings to discuss local affairs and distribute government benefits.

Town-sponsored sectarian prayer violates the basic rule requiring the government to stay neutral on matters of faith.

"[1] Ira Lupu, a law professor emeritus at George Washington University who specializes in the First Amendment, called the court's ruling "a very bad decision" because it undermined the Establishment Clause.

Lupu explained that the court decision "does not insist on any [...] reasonable effort to make prayer nonsectarian or to push for diversity.