Court Upholds Judeo-Christian Prayer

The Washington Post reports that the U.S. 4th Circuit Court reversed on Thursday a lower court ruling that prohibited Chesterfield County, VA from excluding a Wiccan group from participation in the invocation at the County’s Board of Supervisors meetings.

The County’s policy is that only members of Judeo-Christian religions may participate in the invocation at the beginning of all Board meetings. The County has also allowed Muslims to participate.

A federal judge ruled in 2003 that the County was discriminating against a religious minority, but the 4th Circuit Court reversed the decision, finding that the County’s policy “does not "proselytize or advance any one, or disparage any other, faith or belief."” The Court quotes from the Supreme Court decision in Marsh v. Chambers (1983).

Cynthia Simpson, the Wiccan leader who brought the suit, said she was trying to “help dispel images of wicked witches on broomsticks.” The funny thing about this is that according to the Court’s decision, Ms. Simpson is “a member of a local group known as the Broom Riders Association.”

The Court notes in its decision that after Ms. Simpson’s complaint, the County changed its policy and now “directs clerics to avoid invoking the name of Jesus Christ.” However, the Court says that the policy change is “not significant” to its ruling. The Court points out later in its decision that references to Jesus Christ are not permissible when the only clerics allowed to participate are Christian. In this case, the County “never insisted on the invocation of Jesus Christ by name.”

The Court also found that the County’s practice was constitutional since “the invocation "is a blessing . . . for the benefit of the board," rather than for the individual leading the invocation or for those who might also be present.” Rather than dividing the community, the Court found that “Chesterfield’s invocation policy embodies the principle that religious expression can promote common bonds through solemnizing rituals.”

The Court’s decision can be found in pdf format here.

–J.E. Heath
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