Are religious rights gone in America?

One of the things that I thought made America a great country is the idea of religious freedom and equality. That's why this decision disturbs me so. As far as I'm concerned, showing preference for certain religions as the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors did, is completely and clearly unconstitutional. Here's the article in full:

Wiccan priestess out of appeals
Supreme Court won't hear Chesterfield case excluding her prayer

BY TOM CAMPBELL AND MEREDITH BONNY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS

Oct 12, 2005

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal yesterday from the Wiccan priestess who was excluded from giving the opening prayer at meetings of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors.

Cynthia Simpson, who calls herself a witch as do others of the Wiccan faith, sued because the county limits its list of clergy invited to pray at meetings to those of Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions.

She won in the U.S. District Court but lost when the county appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.

Rebecca Glenberg, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, represented Simpson. She said the high court's decision was not much of a surprise because it accepts so few of the cases appealed to it.

"We're nonetheless very disappointed that the 4th Circuit's decision upholding religious discrimination stands," Glenberg said.

"It was the correct decision," said Chesterfield Supervisor Arthur S. Warren. "Chesterfield County acted within its governmental rights in a fair and balanced approach."

"I had confidence in our case and believed we were right the whole time," said Supervisor Kelly E. Miller. "We had to keep fighting. But we were so fortunate that we had good legal counsel. Our attorneys did a super job."

In district court almost two years ago, Magistrate Judge Dennis W. Dohnal agreed with Glenberg. He ruled the county policy that restricts clergy giving prayers at meetings excluded Simpson "because of a stated government preference for a different set of religious beliefs." That violates the Constitution, Dohnal ruled.

On appeal, a three-judge 4th Circuit panel sided with the county, noting that the county's list of eligible clergy was a broad cross-section of the county's religious organizations. Therefore, the county "was not affiliated with any one specific faith. . . . The Judeo-Christian tradition is, after all, not a single faith but an umbrella covering many faiths."

Glenberg said at the time that the 4th Circuit decision undermined the basic constitutional principle "that government may not play favorites when it comes to religion."

Yesterday, the Supreme Court routinely rejected the appeal without giving a reason. Four of the nine justices must agree to take up a case for it to be heard.

Carl Tobias, Williams professor at the University of Richmond law school, said a routine denial to hear the case "doesn't tell us that the court ruled against [Simpson]. . . . Certainly the plaintiff raised constitutional issues." Perhaps the justices consider the law sufficiently settled on those issues, he said.

Simpson is now studying for a master's degree in divinity at a Pennsylvania seminary and hopes to be ordained in the Unitarian Universalist Church. She said that church's beliefs are compatible with the Wiccan faith, which is based on unity with the Earth and the idea that humanity and all things are part of the deity.

"Of course I was disappointed," she said about yesterday's refusal, "because I feel that the 4th Circuit decision was a wrong decision."

Contact Tom Campbell at (804) 649-6416 or tcampbell@timesdispatch.com
Contact Meredith Bonny at (804) 649-6452 or mbonny@timesdispatch.com

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Do non-mainstream religions (and lack of religions) need to get our own minority rights? It seems like there is state sanctioned discrimination against anything that's not one of the Judeaic faiths.