A West Virginia city has been ordered to stop reciting The Lord’s Prayer at its council meetings.
A federal judge in Charleston ruled that Parkersburg City Council’s practice of opening its meetings with the New Testament prayer violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
The clause prohibits government from favoring one religion over others.
The judge issued a permanent injunction against the prayer recital and awarded $1 in damages to each plaintiff.
Copenhaver ruled in a lawsuit filed by the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
The Madison, Wisconsin-based group and two of its members sued the city in 2018.
