After Satanist's Invocation, Alaska Borough Officials Want to End the Practice

[NeoGreen]

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/07/01/after-satanists-invocation-alaska-borough-officials-want-to-end-the-practice/#comment-4522950679

After Satanist’s Invocation, Alaska Borough Officials Want to End the Practice
By Hemant Mehta, July 1, 2019

Two weeks ago, Satanist Iris Fontana delivered an invocation at a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Alaska, leading to protests on that day and beyond.

It was actually the second time she’s given the prayer. After the first time, two years ago, the assembly members instituted new rules effectively blocking Satanists and atheists from ever giving the invocation again. They sued. They won. The borough opened up the invocation opportunities to everyone — and several non-Christians signed up. Fontana was one of them, which is why she spoke last month.

She didn’t say anything problematic. She even urged officials to “use reason, logic, science, and compassion to create solutions for the greater good of our community.” Lovely! But she didn’t hide her identity, either, ending her prayer with the words, “It is Done. Hail Satan.”

Now one official is proposing getting rid of the invocation entirely.

Assembly member Willy Dunne said in a recent memo (written the day after Fontana’s speech) that invocations are no longer meeting the “spiritual needs of assembly members.” Instead they have “resulted in controversial and divisive actions in our community.”

Ending the practice of invocations will save the borough taxpayers’ money and reduce divisiveness in our community. It is expected that assembly members can find ways to have their spiritual needs met outside of public meetings.

He’s calling for a vote at their next meeting — tomorrow — that would put a ballot measure in front of citizens to eliminate invocations at future meetings.

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