Wiccan Wins Court Fight Over Invocations

If local governments allow someone to hold a religious invocation before a government meeting, an invocation that of course includes particular prayers, is it OK to limit such invocation to only members of certain religions? Some Christians think so - they only want other Christians to do the praying. A Wiccan challenged this practice in Chesterfield County, Virginia and a federal court sided with her.

According to U.S. District Judge Dennis W. Dohnal, Cyndi Simpson was subject to discrimination when the county board prohibited her from being on the list of clergy allowed to deliver invocations. According to the First Amendment Center:

Dohnal ruled that Chesterfield County officials violated Simpson's First Amendment right of free expression of her religious beliefs. Dohnal also said the board violated the establishment clause by allowing some religious believers, but not others, to pray at the meetings. ... "She was presumptively excluded because of a stated governmental preference for a different set of religious beliefs and viewpoint, albeit the beliefs of a large segment — if not the majority — of the population," Dohnal said.

I wonder if the county will appeal? They might, but their practices here are blatantly discriminatory and blatantly wrong. There is absolutely no way to justify and defend picking out members of certain religions and have them deliver a religious invocation at government meetings.

That sort of religious favoritism goes right to the heart of the First Amendment and the separation of church and state. The government has no authority to single out particular religions for favorable treatment. The government has no authority to pick particular religious beliefs to promote to the entire public. Why don't the officials in Chesterfield County understand this? They were elected to run the county, not to be priests.

Read More:

• Secularism 101
• Separation of Church and State
• Government Chaplains