Aleta Ledendecker, secretary of Rationalists of East Tennessee, told the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, that no gods should be invoked at the openings of their meetings, and the Council should recognize that secular authority in government is not only sufficient but preferable. (Image from City of Oak Ridge video)
Note: This story was last updated at 3:34 p.m.
A member of Rationalists of East Tennessee told the Oak Ridge City Council that no gods should be invoked at the openings of their meetings, and the Council should recognize that secular authority in government is not only sufficient but preferable.
“In honor of separation of church and state, no deities need to nor should be invoked at the openings of your meetings,” said Aleta Ledendecker, secretary of Rationalists of East Tennessee. “Doing so gives the appearance if not actual governmental preference to one group of citizens over others.”
It was an unusual invocation. They are generally led by local pastors, ministers, or reverends of various faiths. The secular Monday night invocation by Ledendecker has apparently caused some backlash.
“The City Council is a civic body, not a religious one, so should recognize that secular authority in government is not only sufficient but preferable,” Ledendecker said. [Read more…]
