The Readers Say: No Praying At Council Meetings

An Ashland Current poll shows that most readers don't want to see praying at the Ashland City Council meetings.

In response to a request from a local church association, Ashland city councilors plan to discuss tonight whether to continue the practice of starting council meetings with prayer.

In the Ashland Current poll conducted on Facebook, 48 percent of readers said praying should be used to open Ashland City Council meetings, while 52 percent of readers said praying should not be used to open Ashland City Council meetings.

One reader comment said, "Praying before, or as part of, a government function, is inherently divisive; someone's inevitably going to feel disenfranchised. So do what you know is right; skip the prayer and get to work on the real issues at hand. Pray on your own time, not the public's dime."

Another reader put it this way: "If you're going to pray before a meeting, then be sure that all of the major religions are equally represented. I can allow praying to Jesus if the council also prays to Athena, The Great Spirit, Gaia, Allah, Thor, Pazuzu, and any other dieties one can think of. I'm being completely serious here."

Mayor Bill Whalen started the practice of allowing prayer before Ashland City Council meetings after taking office in April 2010. A June 25 Ashland Current examination of the practice revealed that those religious leaders delivering prayers exclusively represented Christian denominations, and their prayers occasionally invoked Jesus Christ, a practice that has triggered legal challenges in some communities.

A July 16 letter from a lawyer with the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation called on Whalen to halt the prayer practice, calling it a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Council documents for Tuesday's meeting attempt to defend the prayer practice. “The Mayor's intention of the governmental public prayer was to solemnize the council meetings and to emphasize the importance of the governmental activity undertaken by the council,” an agenda bill states.