On The Front Lines
Responding to Wynne Ruling, Rutherford Institute Issues Guidelines on Constitutional Prayer at City Council Meetings
Guidelines on Prayer at City Council Meetings Available at www.rutherford.orgCHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--In an effort to alleviate some of the confusion surrounding the question of prayer in public places, The Rutherford Institute has issued guidelines for constitutionally permissible methods of offering prayers/invocations before City Council meetings. The memorandum made available to Town and City Councils analyzes the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' recent ruling in Wynne v. Town of Great Falls, S.C., in which the court held that City Council members in Great Falls violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause by engaging in prayers that contained explicit references to a deity of one specific faith. The Rutherford Institute's guidelines for constitutionally permissible prayer at City Council meetings are available online here (PDF).
"The Wynne decision is very limited in its holdings," stated John W. Whitehead, president and founder of The Rutherford Institute. "Prayers delivered by private citizens necessarily fall into the category of private speech and are protected by the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses. We hope City Councils will take the time to fully explore their options rather than simply closing the forum for prayer."
Since the Wynne ruling, a number of City Councils have had their practice of opening meetings with prayer challenged. For example, on the advice of its attorney, the Culpeper (Va.) Town Council recently asked its local ministers to refrain from praying to "specific deities" during opening prayers of council meetings. In Fredericksburg, Va., the Town Council Attorney asked ministers not to refer to "Jesus, Christ or any variation of those specific names" while praying at council meetings. However, as The Rutherford Institute's memorandum points out, "because prayers delivered by clergy or other private citizens constitute private speech, rather than government speech, there is no reason to restrict the content of such prayers." The memorandum's suggestions for permissible methods for offering prayer before City Council meetings include offering nonsectarian prayers, sectarian prayers of many faiths and prayers for the benefit of the Council members only.
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
Related links:
Sign-up to receive The Rutherford Institute's Insider Report E-newsletter!
Sign-up to receive John W. Whitehead's Weekly Column today!
Sound Off! Tell us what you think about this news story!
Get your free copy of the Bill of Rights!
Support the Fight! Give Today!
Rutherford News Archives
Recent Victories!
The Rutherford Institute
|
