Monday, May 12, 2014

VA Official: Non-Christian Public Prayer Violates My Rights ‘Because I Don’t Believe That’

From Americans Against the Tea Party, courtesy of a facebook friend:

The recent Greece v. Galloway Supreme Court decision, which affirmed the right of groups to offer sectarian prayer at (government) meetings has caused quite a stir. Not only has it smashed a gaping hole through the wall between church and state, but it has opened the door to non-Christian groups offering said prayers.

For instance, Florida resident Chaz Stevens has requested to deliver a prayer to his lord and master (Satan) at a legislative meeting–something he can now do under his newfound “religious freedom.”

Unfortunately that right of any religion to offer sectarian prayer will not be honored in Roanoke County, Virginia. Al Bedrosian, a member of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors has decided, despite that ruling, that only Christians will be allowed to offer invocation prayers at their meetings from this point forward.


More here, with video.

I really bet this is eventually going back to the Supreme Court.  I mean, it shouldn't because, as the article observes, the SCOTUS ruling was crystal clear that such prayer shouldn't be all Christian.  But with militant attitudes like this guy's pushing things forward, it's only a matter of time.  You really expect Bible Belt school board officials to tolerate Muslim prayer at their meetings?  Wiccan prayer?  I think not.  But right now, that's the law of the land: you can officially pray at public meetings, but it cannot be confined to simply one religion.

This is why the ruling on this is so f'ing stupid.  It's opened up a MASSIVE can of worms that will drive militant Christianists insane--I say "Christianist" to invoke the word "sexist;" it's like sexism but with Christianity.  The whole point to separation of church and state is precisely to calm such civic unrest as this, but the Supreme Court, in its wisdom, or in its stupidity, one of those two, has decided that revisiting the national strife that tore England apart in the seventeenth century is a darned fine idea.

Why must we always be fixing things that aren't broken?

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