DANVILLE, Va. — The board of supervisors in Virginia’s Pittsylvania County has been permanently barred from allowing sectarian prayers at official meetings, following a decision by a federal judge March 26.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Urbanski’s ruling brings to a close a legal battle that began in September 2011, when the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia sued the supervisors, who regularly opened their meetings with Christian prayers. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Pittsylvania County resident who said the prayers suggested to non-Christian residents “the message that they are not welcome at board meetings.”
In his ruling, Urbanski said the supervisors’ view of the law is “inconsistent with controlling U.S. Supreme Court and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals precedent” and that a permanent injunction was necessary. Sectarian prayers, he wrote, have “the unconstitutional effect of affiliating the government with … one specific faith or belief.”
“a permanent injunction in this case is necessary to protect, rather than abjure, religious freedom,” ruled a federal judge in the Pittsylvania prayer case.
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Quoting earlier court rulings, Urbanski wrote, “Certainly, defendants may believe that this decision ‘indicate[s] a hostility toward religion or toward prayer. Nothing, of course, could be more wrong.’ The founders of our nation, possessing ‘faith in the power of prayer … led the fight for adoption of our Constitution and also for our Bill of Rights with the very guarantees of religious freedom that forbid the sort of governmental activity which [the board] has attempted here.’”
He added: “ ‘The Establishment Clause … stands as an expression of principle on the part of the founders of our Constitution that religion is too personal, too sacred, too holy, to permit its “unhallowed perversion” ’ by government. Indeed, viewed in this light, a permanent injunction in this case is necessary to protect, rather than abjure, religious freedom.”
ACLU legal director Rebecca Glenberg said in a press release, “This ruling sends a clear message to localities that government officials may not impose their own religious beliefs on the entire community by leading sectarian prayers at public meetings. The Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled repeatedly that our right to religious liberty precludes the government from expressing favor for one set of beliefs over others.”
Board supervisor Tim Barber told the Danville Register & Bee he was “disappointed” by the ruling, but added, “I’ll respect the decision.” Board chair Marshall Ecker told the newspaper, “If it was up to me, I would contest it.”
While acknowledging the legality of non-sectarian prayer, Urbanski refused in his ruling to “set forth some sort of template for an ideal legislative prayer policy.” Since a 2012 preliminary injunction, Pittsylvania ministers have been offering — primarily Christian — prayers during the portion of county board meetings in which citizens may speak. Supervisors have bowed their heads and responded with “amen.”
Though a plaintiff said such behavior showed “approval” of the prayers and asked Urbanski to find it in violation of the First Amendment, the judge declined to do so. “Because the practices of the board after the entry of the preliminary injunction are not part of the pleadings in this case, the court cannot rule on them,” he wrote.
But ACLU executive director Claire Gastañaga suggested moments of silence were the best approach for those looking to “solemnize” government meetings.
“Legislative bodies may open their meetings with prayers if those prayers do not refer to particular religious beliefs or prefer some beliefs over others, “ said Gastañaga in a press release. “Such a policy can, however, be very difficult to implement legally in practice. That’s why we encourage localities that want to have an invocation to consider having a moment of silence. A moment of silence can still solemnize the meeting by providing a brief period of reflection, and lets everyone who is present, both believers and non-believers, use the moment as they choose.”
Three counties in North Carolina also are grappling with sectarian prayer at official government meetings. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina filed a lawsuit against Rowan County’s board of commissioners March 12, claiming it routinely opens meetings with prayers to Jesus Christ.
The ACLU also has raised questions about similar practices by the board of commissioners in Davie County and the school board in Stokes County.
Robert Dilday ([email protected]) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.