Court upholds county commissioners’ right to pray

A federal appeals court ruled today in favor of a North Carolina county commission that opens its meetings with prayer. The three-judge panel reversed a lower court’s decision that the opening prayer, which often invoked the name of Jesus, at Rowan County Board of Commissioners meetings violated the separation of church and state. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the commission in 2013 on behalf of three county residents who said the prayers made them feel “excluded” and “coerced.” But the 4th Circuit ruled the prayer practice “falls within our recognized tradition” and doesn’t force non-Christians to participate.