The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the practice of the Great Falls, S.C.,
town council of saying prayers specifically related to the Christian
faith violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.
"Public
officials' brief invocations of the Almighty before engaging in public
business have always ... been part of our nation's history," wrote
Judge Diana Gribbon Motz. "This opportunity does not, however, provide
the town council, or any other legislative body, license to advance its
own religious views in preference to all others, as the town council
did here."
Darla
Wynne, a follower of the Wiccan faith, filed suit against the council
in 2001, saying the council's "Christian prayer ritual" was
unconstitutional. A lower court agreed with her in a 2003 ruling and
told the council to stop mentioning the name of Jesus Christ in its
prayers.
Two organizations that filed amicus briefs on Wynne's behalf hailed the ruling.
"It
is well-established that no government body can manifest a preference
of one faith over another," said Paul S. Miller, president of the
American Jewish Congress, in a statement. "This ruling affirms the most
fundamental principles of the relationship of American governments to
religion."
The
Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation
of Church and State, agreed, saying: "This ruling is a great victory
for religious liberty and diversity. ... In America all faiths are equal in the eyes of the law."
