Court: Christian-only prayer violates the law

DETROIT — A Michigan county’s tradition of Christian-only prayers at public meetings violates the U.S. Constitution by promoting one faith over others, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

In a 2-1 decision, the court ruled in favor of a resident who was offended after he began attending Jackson County Board of Commissioners meetings in 2013 to discuss environmental issues.

One commissioner called Peter Bormuth a “nitwit,” and his lawsuit was panned as an attack on Jesus Christ.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said prayer invocations at public meetings can be legal. But in Jackson County, the court noted that only commissioners offered a prayer, not audience members, and the prayer was always Christian, not from other faiths.

“There is no distinction between the government and the prayer-giver: They are one and the same. The prayers, in Bormuth’s words, are literally ‘government speech,’” said judges Karen Nelson Moore and Jane Branstetter Stranch.

They said the exclusion of non-Christian prayers puts Christianity “in a privileged position” and “advances one faith over others.”

“I’m very pleased. I can’t wait to read the decision,” said Bormuth, 61, a non-lawyer who has represented himself during more than three years of litigation.