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It's not that the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California wants Lancaster officials to stop praying all together at the beginning of meetings, but to stop singling out that Jesus guy.
“The City Council is clearly showing bias toward one religion by leading council and planning meetings with Christian prayers,” said Peter Eliasberg, Manheim Family Attorney for First Amendment Rights at the ACLU/SC in a statement. “Public officials are not only alienating a large swath of the non-Christian constituents they represent, but they are also clearly violating one of the most basic principles of the Constitution - that government must not favor one religion over others.”
In 2002, the California Court of Appeal upheld a Superior Court ruling that concluded that a prayer given by the city of Burbank “in the name of Jesus Christ” violated the First Amendment, says the ACLU. The court ordered the city to cease opening its meetings with sectarian prayers, and to inform anyone conducting a prayer that sectarian prayers are prohibited.
The ACLU's letter urges the high desert city to cease the practice or face legal action. Lancaster has until Friday to respond.
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Being a Christian, I feel the person giving the prayer should be allowed to pray to his or her spiritual power. Now to appease all sects rotate the prayer among the different sects present. However the person who is giving the prayer should be able to use his or her First Amendment right to say what ever they feel. If that means using Jesus, God, Buddha, Ala, or what ever, that is the right given to them by the Firs Amendment (Freedom of speech). It has nothing to do with Government, but showing respect to a spiritual entity which ever one it is. I can see no wrong in blessing those in attendance to a gathering no mater what the purpose of that gathering. How would you want a Funeral to be conducted? I would guess in accordance with the specific religion of the person being inturned, even if some of the persons in attendance do not have the same religion, right! So get off of your soap box.
Large swath?...
58.08% of the people in Lancaster, CA are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion.
Catholic 39.99%
Protestant 6.75%
LDS 1.04%
Baptist 2.29%
Episcopalian 0.49%
Pentecostal 2.12%
Lutheran 0.62%
Methodist 0.66%
Presbyterian 0.57%
Other Christian 3.33%
Jewish 5.93%
Eastern 0.07%
Islam 0.98%
You'd think the ACLU could think of more constructive ways to spend their time.
I live in Valley Village, which is heavily Jewish Orthodox. The city has recently been spending all kinds of funds for new sidewalks and crosswalks in and around the synagogues and orthodox neighborhoods. Not to mention that horribly-annoying stoplight on Magnolia btwn Coldwater & Whitsett.
As a Christian, rather than calling in the lawyers, I deal with it under the realization that I'm in the religious minority in my neighborhood.
Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if our Neighborhood Council were opening their meetings with siddur prayers in Hebrew.
Either way, it wouldn't concern me in the least.
L'Chayim!
As a Christian, I am embarrassed. Keep that shit to yourself.
There should be NO prayer at public meetings ever, not any from any religion. Do that in the privacy of your own home or church. Freedom of religion is also freedom from religious belief if that's what you want.
I support everyone's right to private worship, but keep it out of our private life.
The Antelope Valley Press has a survey on this issue running through tomorrow. Here's a linky.