Would anyone have ever believed that the American Civil Liberties Union would go to court in defense of the right to pray – with invocations at a meeting of county supervisors?
WorldNetDaily reports that the usually anti-religion ACLU, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court – on behalf of a self-identified witch named Cyndi Simpson.
Simpson is a Wiccan priestess and member of the Broom Riders Association. She wanted to offer a generalized prayer to "the Creator of the Universe" at a meeting of the county supervisors of Chesterfield County, near Richmond, Va.
With help from the ACLU, which ironically often opposes most expressions of prayer at government events, Simpson sued and initially won before a federal court judge who ruled the county board violated Simpson's constitutional right of equal and free expression of her religious beliefs.
But at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, she lost when jurists found Chesterfield County had amended its policy and directed clerics to avoid any mention of Jesus Christ.
The legal precedent covering most government assemblies is the 1983 Supreme Court case of Marsh v. Chambers, where justices noted:
In light of the unambiguous and unbroken history of more than 200 years, there can be no doubt that the practice of opening legislative sessions with prayer has become part of the fabric of our society. To invoke Divine guidance on a public body entrusted with making the laws is not, in these circumstances, an "establishment" of religion or a step toward establishment; it is simply a tolerable acknowledgment of beliefs widely held among the people of this country. As Justice Douglas observed, "[w]e are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being."
The Supreme Court support of the right of Chesterfield county supervisors to allow invocations from religious leaders – but not from witches – is a wise and justified decision.
Otherwise, can we imagine the lineup of different invocations?
If witches, why not invocations to trolls, gnomes, goblins, hobgoblins, fairies, or any and all of the Greek, Roman and Norse gods and goddesses?
And, there are in existence worshippers of the devil. What about Chesterfield county supervisors hosting invocations to Satan?