A U.S. district judge ruled last Thursday that the 1952 statute establishing the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional, but the ruling does not stop the president from proclaiming a national day of prayer.

Ruling in a lawsuit brought by the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) vagainst the president, Judge Barbara Crabb of the U.S. District Court in Madison, Wisconsin said the statute violates the First Amendment of the Constitution. Crabb said the statute “goes beyond mere ‘acknowledgment’ of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context.”

Unless the ruling is overturned by an appeals court, the statute directing the president to proclaim a National Day of Prayer cannot be enforced, but the ruling does not stop the president from issuing such a proclamation. The White House said that President Obama still intends to recognize the National Day of Prayer.

The ruling does not affect the National Day of Prayer Task Force, which is a private Christian organization. Judge Crabb earlier threw out a portion of the lawsuit which named Shirley Dobson, the chair of the Task Force, saying the FFRF had no standing to sue her.

The 1952 statute requires the president to proclaim a National Day of Prayer every year, and a law passed in 1988 established the first Thursday in May every year for the Day of Prayer. Members of Congress who signed the 1988 statute held a press conference on Wednesday, along with members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, where they expressed support for the National Day of Prayer.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force, Alliance Defense Fund, and others are urging the Obama administration to appeal the ruling, and the American Center for Law and Justice, who filed a friend of the court briefing in the case on behalf of 31 members of Congress, says it will support an appeal if one is filed.  The White House has not said if Obama plans to file an appeal or not.