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Appeals court rules against Wiccan in Virginia prayer lawsuit Date published: 4/15/2005
RICHMOND--A federal appeals court yesterday ruled against a priestess of the Wiccan faith who wanted to give the opening prayer when a local board of supervisors meets. Cynthia Simpson sued Chesterfield County after she was excluded from a list of religious leaders allowed to pray at Board of Supervisors meetings. In a letter to Simpson, the county explained that the invocations "are traditionally made to a divinity that is consistent with the Judeo-Christian tradition." Wiccans consider themselves witches, pagans or neo-pagans, and say their religion is based on respect for the earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday reversed a lower court's decision ruling in Simpson's favor. A U.S. District Court magistrate judge in 2003 ruled that the county's policy violated the Constitution by stating a preference for a set of religious beliefs. "This isn't right," said Simpson, 49, a member of a local group known as the Broom Riders Association. "I've been a separation-of-church-and-stater all my life, long before I was a witch. That's what was driving me all along." Simpson said she will seek a full-court review of the decision. The case has been watched in the Fredericksburg area and Culpeper County as well. In Culpeper, the Board of Supervisors has been using a variety of ministers to pray at meetings. From August to February, the board used a moment of silence to open meetings. The Culpeper Town Council, meanwhile, earlier this week adopted a practice of inviting volunteers to recite what it calls "First Amendment Speech" before the council meeting begins. In Fredericksburg, a City Council member who is a minister has stopped saying the opening prayer because he could not use a Christian message. Other City Council members pray but make no reference to Christ or any specific denomination. During the recent General Assembly session, the legislature passed a bill introduced by Del. Bobby Orrock creating a period of "meditation" immediately before a meeting begins. The measure by Orrock, a Caroline County Republican, is meant to allow local officials to invoke the name of Christ and say sectarian prayers without violating the separation of church and state.
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