Four years ago, the then-Clark County commissioners voted to have a prayer before their meetings in hopes of bringing divine guidance to their decisions. At the time, then-Commissioner Tom Mielke explained that the invocation would bring a tradition present in Congress and the Legislature to Clark County in a way that was inclusive of different religious traditions.
Now, in response to concerns from more secular-minded individuals as well as a desire from councilors to simplify the practice, the county is preparing to update its guidelines for the invocation.
While the county hopes its revised invocation guidelines (which are still in draft form) will be more inclusive and less likely to bring legal challenges, at least one resident of the county as well as a national secular advocacy group say the revisions fall short.
“It’s a step in the right direction, but they still have the key point wrong,” said Stuart Riley, an atheist resident of Hazel Dell who has contacted the council about the guidelines. “It’s divisive, and with the issues we’ve had, I want them to make a gesture of unity.”
The current guidelines state that the council “serves constituents of all faiths (and) expresses no faith preference.” They direct clergy giving the invocation, which is not to exceed two minutes, to be respectful of other beliefs and not to proselytize. The current guidelines also seek “invocation opportunities for the widest feasible variety of faiths,” and directs a staff person to compile a list of religious organizations in the county.
Since the guidelines have been put in place, a Baha’i chairperson, a Messianic Jewish pastor, a Jewish rabbi and others have offered prayers at the beginning of council meetings. But council Chair Marc Boldt said the county has been contacted by individuals concerned the guidelines aren’t inclusive enough. He also said some councilors wanted the guidelines simplified.
The revised guidelines, which the county council will vote on in coming weeks, keep the prohibitions on proselytizing and disparagement and allow clerics of “all faiths” to offer an invocation.
The revised guidelines also instruct staff to periodically invite and schedule individuals from local religious organizations to give the invocation but make no mention of compiling a list. They also allow clerics who wish to give an invocation to contact the county.
At a recent board time meeting, Chris Horne, chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney, said that revisions were intended to minimize staff time on the invocation, saying that a court was unlikely to take issue if someone spent 10 minutes out of a 40-hour workweek on it.
The revised guidelines state that “a group having no religious affiliation may request the opportunity to offer a moment of silence in place of an invocation.”
“We wanted to make sure that it was as inclusive to the varying beliefs held by citizens as possible,” said Councilor John Blom.
While Riley said he doesn’t have “any axes to grind” and wants to get along, he said he takes issue with how the guidelines allow nonreligious individuals to give a moment of silence and not an invocation.
“Look at it this way, they are a government body. They can’t take sides,” Riley said. “They are saying one group can provide an invocation, one can’t. Just write one rule for everybody.”
Riley said he’s a member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based organization that advocates for separation of church and state. The group’s website includes examples of secular invocations that call on government bodies to use human reason to solve problems. Riley said he “wouldn’t mind” giving a secular invocation.
In an email, Elizabeth Cavell, associate counsel for the foundation, wrote that while the guidelines attempt to be more inclusive, they still have “constitutional problems,” namely that individuals with no religious affiliation can’t deliver an invocation.
“This amounts to preferential access to religious groups and individuals, and second-class treatment for nonreligious groups and individuals,” she wrote.
In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Greece v. Galloway decision, concluding that the city council for Greece, N.Y., could begin its meetings with an explicitly Christian prayer. The court found that the prayers were allowed because they didn’t denigrate non-Christians nor did they proselytize. According to The Columbian’s archives, the ruling affirmed Clark County’s practice of giving invocations.
But Cavell wrote that the revised guidelines are not in line with the decision. She called attention to how the court’s ruling noted that the town allowed clergy and nonclergy of any persuasion, including atheists, to give invocations without town leaders “editing, approving, or censoring content.”
Horne did not respond to a request for comment.
Blom said he is unfamiliar with a secular invocation, but said he’s open to it and doesn’t see it being prohibited in the revised guidelines.
Councilor Eileen Quiring, who previously served in the Oregon Legislature, said that the point of the invocation is to call wisdom to the governing body before its meeting.
“Who are you invoking for this wisdom?” she said skeptically of secular invocations. “I can talk to myself if I want to. I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but this is an invocation. Who are they invoking?”
