The City of Houston is being sued for starting a City Council meeting with a prayer.
Kay Staley, who filed the suit, also sued the city before for having a Bible in front of a downtown courthouse. The Bible case went to federal court, which ruled in Staley’s favor. The Bible was then removed from the front of the courthouse.
This lawsuit raises a couple of interesting issues. It may be true that having any kind of prayer might cause non-religious participants of the City Council meeting to be uncomfortable, but at the same time, Houston is still steeped in Southern culture and is predominantly Christian.
However, if a Muslim or Buddhist wants to say a prayer before the meeting, then Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck’s recital of the Lord’s Prayer may not be appropriate.
‘Just because it always has been doesn’t make it right,’ Staley told KTRK Channel 13.
If there is going to be prayer, all faiths should be given an opportunity.
But when allowing prayers of any faith, considerations for the devotedly non-religious are not taken into account.
‘There are lots of people who feel exactly the same way I do,’ Staley said. ‘Most people are afraid to come out and say anything because of their jobs or their friends.’
While it is true that some may find prayers in a government event annoying, offensive and wrong, it is not worth most people’s time and energy to challenge minor Southern Christian traditions.
Staley, who is offended that the city has not accounted for its non-religious citizens, has the money, time and energy to challenge the city to change these symbolic religious sentiments, and should exercise her rights on behalf of the secular population.
Still, Staley is not the only one who has the money for this lawsuit. Houston’s taxpayers, both religious and nonreligious, are paying to see if she is going to make it ‘right.’
