Rapid City, S.D.: The City Without Separation of Church and State

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AlterNet / By Laura Gottesdiener

Rapid City, S.D.: The City Without Separation of Church and State
Despite scrutiny, city officials are vowing not to remove Christian prayer at City Council meetings

February 22, 2013 |


In South Dakota, city government officials are doubling down on their unconstitutional practice of beginning each city council meeting with a Christian prayer--despite objections from residents and the threat of a lawsuit.

The battle began earlier this year in Rapid City, South Dakota, when a teenage atheist who attends the city council meetings complained about the mandatory moment of prayer that opens each gathering. But instead of reconsidering the council’s religious stance, one council member ridiculed the teenager’s objection by giving him scripture to read. Others suggested the council should draft a prayer policy under the mistaken assumption that this could protect the unconstitutional tradition from becoming the subject of a lawsuit.

Even the Mayor weighed in--on the side of the prayer supporters.

"We are going to stand and fight this nonsensical effort to remove prayer from our meetings. We aren’t backing down," wrote city Mayor Sam Kooiker in a e-newsletter to all the city’s employees. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/belief/rapid-city-sd-city-without-separation-church-and-state