FFRF ends prayer at North Carolina government training (April 23, 2012)

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has ensured that there will be no further Christian prayers by government employees in Mecklenburg County, N.C.

FFRF received a complaint after three different Mecklenburg County employees gave sectarian prayers at a mandatory training luncheon for the county’s Department of Social Services (DSS). In a Feb. 8 letter to DSS Director Mary Wilson, FFRF Staff Attorney Stephanie Schmitt informed the agency that “the prayers and statements made at the DSS training meeting on Jan. 25 impermissibly advanced Christianity and led a reasonable observer to believe that the department is endorsing not only religion over non-religion, but also Christianity over all other faiths.”

After an April 18 follow-up letter, a county attorney responded on April 23, assuring FFRF that “the matter has been addressed and is resolved. The County and DSS are very much aware of Constitutional constraints placed on governmental behavior.”