The Freedom From Religion Foundation applauds the La Crosse City Council for recently voting to end the practice of opening its meetings with clergy-led religious invocations. Various media reports credited FFRF with first raising those concerns more than 15 years ago.
“This is a victory for inclusivity and for the fundamental American principle that government must remain neutral on matters of religion,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “City council meetings are for conducting civic business, not for advancing religious exercises that divide the community into insiders and outsiders.”
FFRF first raised objections to invocations at La Crosse City Council meetings in February 2009 after learning that it was considering formalizing prayer as part of its official proceedings. Despite those efforts, the council voted to adopt most of a prayer policy promoted by the conservative Christian nationalist group the Alliance Defense Fund (now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom), by a 10–3 vote with four abstentions.
FFRF member and “Freethinker Extraordinaire” Hank Zumach of nearby Stoddard, Wis., played a key role in bringing the issue to FFRF’s attention and documenting the constitutional concerns. Zumach noted at the time that the council’s resolution made prayer part of the official meeting by placing it after the meeting was called to order, underscoring that the religious exercise was government-sponsored rather than private.
A subsequent effort later that year to replace clergy-led prayer with a moment of silent reflection was defeated on Sept. 10, 2009, by a 10–7 vote. Then-council member Dick Swantz called the defeat “a blown opportunity” for the city to “celebrate its growing diversity” while acknowledging that winning seven votes for silent reflection represented progress.
More than a decade later, the city has finally taken that next step. On Jan. 8, the council voted 9–4 to discontinue the prayers after receiving extensive public feedback from residents on both sides of the issue. District 8 Council Member Mackenzie Mindel, who proposed the change, correctly noted that the decision reflected community input and the importance of ensuring all residents feel welcome at city meetings.
FFRF commends the council members who supported the change for listening to constituents and prioritizing inclusivity.
“This outcome shows that persistence matters,” adds Gaylor. “Because community members refused to let this issue go, La Crosse City Council meetings will be properly concerned with terrestrial, not supernatural matters, and are now welcoming to everyone.”
FFRF also thanks the La Crosse residents who spoke out in favor of state/church separation and encourages other municipalities that haven’t yet caught up with the times to follow La Crosse’s lead by keeping religious observances free of official government business.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a Wisconsin-based national nonprofit organization with over 41,000 members nationwide, including more than 1,800 members in Wisconsin. FFRF’s purposes are to defend the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
