At the invitation of the Senate Majority Leader, a Mormon, a Hindu cleric opened a session of the U.S. Senate on Thursday, and three Christians in the visitors' gallery errupted in protest.

Survey: Hindu Prayer In Senate?

"This is an abomination," they shouted as he stood at the chamber's podium.

Police officers quickly arrested them and charged them with disrupting Congress, a misdemeanor. One male protester shouted "we are Christians and patriots," before police handcuffed them and led them away.

Which raises the question of whether Capitol opening prayers are the exclusive domain of one religious faith.

Harry Reid, D-Nev., extended the historic invitation to Rajan Zed, the director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple in Reno, Nev. No Hindu has ever delivered an opening prayer in the Senate.

"We meditate on the transcendental glory of the deity supreme, who is inside the heart of the Earth, inside the life of the sky and inside the soul of the heaven. May he stimulate and illuminate our minds," Zed said after the protesters were led away.

The prayer, like others, is entered into the Congressional Record.

Tony Perkins, of the conservative Family Research Council, said in a statement Thursday, "No one can legitimately challenge the fact that the God America refers to in the pledge, our national motto, and other places is the monotheistic God of the Jewish and Christian faith."

"There is no historic connection between America and the polytheistic creed of the Hindu faith. I seriously doubt that Americans want to change the motto, 'In God we Trust,' which Congress adopted in 1955, to, 'In gods we Trust.' That is essentially what the United States Senate did today," Perkins said.

The three who were arrested said they are members of Operation Save America/Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion rights group, which opposed Zed's invitation.

"The Senate was opened with a Hindu prayer, placing the false god of Hinduism on a level playing field with the one true god, Jesus Christ," a statement on the group's Web site declared. "This would never have been allowed by our Founding Fathers."

Reid dismissed the protests.

Survey: Hindu Prayer In Senate?

"I think it speaks well of our country that someone representing the faith of about a billion people comes here and can speak in communication with our heavenly Father regarding peace," Reid said.

"If people have any misunderstanding about Indians and Hindus," Reid said, "all they have to do is think of Gandhi," a man "who gave his life for peace."

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, criticized the protesters.

"They say they want more religion in the public square, but it’s clear they mean only their religion," he said.

"America is a land of extraordinary religious diversity, and the religious right just can’t seem to accept that fact," Lynn said. "I don’t think the Senate should open with prayers, but if it’s going to happen, the invocations ought to reflect the diversity of the American people. This shows the intolerance of many religious right activists," he said.