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Supreme Court dismisses Pledge of Allegiance 'Under God' Case

October 19, 2003

No "Jesus" Prayer ruling faces appeal

Prayer at public meetings cannot include words that endorse a specific religion, such as “Christ” or “Jesus,” a federal judge has told a South Carolina town council.
The ruling, now under appeal, could apply to all South Carolina governments if it is upheld.

But Beaufort County Council Chairman Weston Newton said the council does not endorse any one religion in its invocations. Instead, it promotes religious diversity through its tradition of inviting leaders of different denominations and faiths to pray before each meeting.

Newton called the practice “ecumenically neutral,” and said the county staff attorney has said the August court ruling is not yet a concern for Beaufort County.

…

In the federal court case, Darla Kaye Wynne, a Wiccan high priestess, sued the town of Great Falls for repeatedly opening council meetings with a prayer that included the word “Christ.” Wynne said the prayers violated the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from endorsing any one religion.

U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie agreed, writing that neither the town council nor any person giving an invocation at public meetings should “(invoke) the name of a specific deity associated with any one specific faith or belief.”

Prayers can include “God,” Currie said in the ruling.

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