WASHINGTON, D.C. (EP) – Rep. William Dannemeyer (R-Calif.) has announced plans to introduce a constitutional amendment permitting “voluntary prayer” and teaching of “the Judeo-Christian ethic” in public schools.

In a press conference called to announce the planned amendment, Dannemeyer decried the “disturbing judicial trend” that “has effectively kicked God out of public schools.”

He suggested that the lack of religious influence in public schools was responsible for “intellectually deprived youths, materialistic attitudes, child abuse, teenage pregnancies, and abortions.”

The Rev. Robert L. Maddox, executive director of Americans United for separation of Church and State, spoke against the proposed constitutional amendment as “an open-ended invitation to politicians to legislate in sensitive matters of religious belief.”