CRESTVIEW — Going forward, city government meetings and workshops will begin just a bit differently.
The City Council voted 4-1 on Monday to approve a resolution that adheres invocations at the beginning of each meeting to the U.S. Constitution's establishment clause.
In other words, the resolution ensures that the city of Crestview does not endorse a particular religion.
In the past, city meetings began with a prayer presented by someone the council president or chairman selected, according to the resolution. Often, that was a city council member.
However, a May 2014 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Town of Greece v. Galloway stated that "a local government should not promote or advance any one belief, view or religion" the resolution states.
So, what does this mean?
Invocations are OK, as long as "the town does not discriminate against minority faiths in determining who may offer a prayer, and the prayer does not coerce participation with non-adherents."
In Crestview, this means city council members won't lead the prayer. Instead, the city clerk will make "reasonable efforts to invite, locate and welcome individuals with a diversity of viewpoints to offer the opening invocation before regular City Council Meetings," the resolution states.
Council members Joe Blocker, Shannon Hayes, Bill Cox and Mickey Rytman voted in favor of the resolution. JB Whitten dissented.
City attorney Jerry Miller, asked by Whitten whether atheists could offer an invocation, indicated that it's a possibility.
"If it meets (the) faith-based (requirement), we are going to be out of the business of controlling content," Miller said. "That is the crux of this."
Still, the Supreme Court ruling was lenient enough to allow specifically Christian prayer.
"The Supreme Court didn't say we have to give a nonsectarian prayer," Miller said. "In other words, a prayer giver may give a Christian prayer."
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview officials will no longer lead prayer during meetings