CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio (AP) — A chaplain’s prayer invoking the name of Jesus to open council meetings in a northeast Ohio city is stirring debate over separation of church and state.
For years it was traditional to begin Cuyahoga Falls council meetings with quotes, poems or a moment of silence.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports that changed after councilman Terry Mader was appointed council chaplain in January and began ending his prayer with the phrase, “In Jesus’ name, we pray.”
Some residents are asking for a general invocation that doesn’t single out a particular religion while others are urging the council to keep the chaplain’s prayer as is.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled prayers before public meetings are constitutional but is currently weighing a challenge involving mainly Christian prayers.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less