LA CROSSE, Wis. — The La Crosse City Council has adopted an invocations policy after receiving legal counsel from Alliance Defense Fund attorneys that will allow the council to continue opening public meetings with prayer.  The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation threatened to sue the city over the practice.

“America’s founders opened public meetings with prayer.  Public officials today should be allowed to do the same,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson.  “The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s demands that any trace of religion be wiped from the public square simply do not comport with the law or this nation’s history.”

In 2007, ADF launched a nationwide effort to advise public bodies of their constitutional right to open meetings with an invocation, mailing thousands of informational letters to local governments.  Since then, ADF attorneys have received numerous requests from state legislatures and many county and city governments.

“There is simply no question that a legislative body may open it’s sessions with an invocation,” said Johnson.  “Public prayer has been an essential part of our heritage since the time of this nation’s founding, and our Constitution has always protected the activity.  Moreover, such prayer can include sectarian references without running afoul of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.”

On Aug. 4, ADF sent a letter to Chesapeake, Va., officials offering to defend that city against similar threats from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.