Our Father, who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done
On Earth, as it is in Heaven
Give us this day
Our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
Amen.
That’s the Lord’s Prayer, recited from memory of many a Catholic mass. Some of you crazy Protestants add a few more lines here or there, because you all are a bit crazy. I’ve recited it at Mass, at Funerals, at Weddings, and during my pre-flight ritual (where I pray silently two Lord’s Prayers and one Hail Hary as the plane is taxing out to take off). However, I have never had the inclination or the desire to pray it at my local government’s council meeting. It would never have occurred to me to recite a personal Catholic prayer that is directed to God for the forgiveness of my personal sins and thanks for all our blessings at a meeting concerning zoning and land use.
But our good friends down in Sussex County have been reciting the Lord’s Prayer at council meetings, for some time apparently, as it is now referred as a long standing tradition. So last month, four Sussex residents, supported by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, filed suit in Federal District Court to end the practice. This week, the County filed a Motion to Dismiss the case, arguing that the recitation of a Christian prayer does not promote Christianity over other religions.
Now, I can tell you right now that that argument is pure bullshit. And the reason why I know it is bullshit is because if the Sussex County Council were reciting a Muslim prayer or a Jewish prayer during council meetings, you better believe the very same people who are saying reciting a Christian prayer does not advance Christianity will say that reciting a Muslim prayer does advance Islam.
Now, here is the argument for the County that may be successful:
“The Lord’s Prayer is, by design and intent, ‘non-sectarian’ despite Plaintiffs efforts to characterize it otherwise,” [Wilmington attorney Joseph Scott] Shannon wrote, [representing the Sussex County Council]. “As a matter of theology, according to Plaintiffs’ own cited authority, the Lord’s Prayer does not advance any one, or disparage any other, faith or belief.” [..]
“That it may be ‘outside’ of the ‘tradition’ of particular sects does not alter the fact that the principles it espouses are universally accepted and unobjectionable as a statement of belief in a Divine Being, which, in and of itself, does not exploit, proselytize, advance any one, or disparage any other, faith or belief,” Shannon wrote.
Those are the legal… magic words, if you will, that could win the County the case, as the Lord’s Prayer, does not hinder or disparage other religions and contains widely held concepts shared by most if not all religions. Other church/state cases have been decided on those grounds, allowing prayers or creeds or displays to remain. So we will have to see how this case plays out. But if the County wins, then I want local Immams and Rabbis in the state to petition the council for the right to recite a prayer from their respective traditions. And I will love to see what reaction that gets.