Another local woman went further and said an exorcist was needed to rid the room of the demons. Controversies like these are remarkably easy to avoid. Elected officials can simply stay out of the religion business. In a diverse society such as ours, no single prayer is capable of reflecting the religious faith of all our citizens. Accordingly, government bodies ought to limit official meetings to legitimate public concerns and leave religious expression up to individual Americans.
Official prayers don t do any favors for religion.
When prayer becomes an official practice, religious beliefs are at risk of being politicized. Furthermore, by endorsing worship at governmental meetings, politicians are ignoring religious diversity, undercutting tolerance and dividing local communities. To protect the rights of everyone, politicians should remain neutral on matters of faith, and allow each of us to make our own decisions. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, 2000. All rights reserved.