Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll’s refusal to apologize today in response to a call from an array of religious leaders concerned about her comments on Hinduism, which she said has “false gods.” Nuxoll’s comments came after she boycotted a Hindu prayer that opened a morning session of the Idaho Senate earlier this week.

“I’m in a floor session bound to follow the Constitution,” Nuxoll said today. “It is a Christian nation based on Christian principles. To start out our day, we usually say a Christian prayer. I would’ve been fine if we had also had a Christian prayer.” David Adler, a professor who teaches constitutional law at Boise State University, said Nuxoll’s wrong on the “Christian nation” claim and on the Constitution. “Freedom of religion promotes and protects diverse beliefs, including non-Christian beliefs,” he said.

“She has betrayed the very constitutional justification for legislative prayer --religious pluralism,” Adler said. “Her words and actions, if followed by all legislators , would not only sanitize the chamber for expression of only those religious  beliefs with which she agrees , but it would convert the Senate to a body that advocates particular religious beliefs, which would represent an 'establishment' of  religion in violation of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.”

Nuxoll said she believes the Constitution is “based on Judeo-Christian principles.”