Thursday, September 25, 2008
State police's prayer policy challenged
Two lawmakers criticize the state police over its requirement that prayers be nondenominational.
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roanoke.com/politics
RICHMOND -- A Virginia State Police policy requiring chaplains to deliver nondenominational prayers at department-sanctioned events drew harsh criticism Wednesday from two state lawmakers, who accused the agency and Gov. Tim Kaine's administration of stifling religious expression.
Six of the 17 troopers who participate in the state police's chaplaincy program have resigned their volunteer duties because of a policy imposed by Col. Steve Flaherty, the department's superintendent. Del. Bill Carrico, R-Grayson County, a retired state trooper, called the policy "an attack on Christianity."
Flaherty recently asked the chaplains to offer nondenominational prayers at department-sanctioned events such as trooper graduations and an annual memorial service. The policy does not apply to private ceremonies such as funerals or counseling fellow employees and victim families, Flaherty said in a written statement.
Flaherty made the request in response to a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that a Fredericksburg City Council member who is also a minister could not pray "in Jesus' name" during an invocation that opens council meetings.
In July, the court found that such a prayer amounts to government speech and must not advance one religion over another. Flaherty said that chaplains can decline to participate in department-sanctioned public events if his request conflicts with their beliefs.
Carrico, who has been critical of laws curbing public expressions of religious faith, said he will push to have the policy overturned.
"This isn't about separation of church and state, this is about separation of Jesus and state," Carrico said. "They targeted one religion, and it was Christianity."
Carrico said he received complaints from volunteer chaplains but declined to identify them.
"This decision wasn't based on any complaints about the chaplains, because I've been told there haven't been any," he said. "It aggravates me when public servants act unilaterally out of a supposed fear of getting a complaint, instead of actually having to deal with one."
House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, criticized Kaine's administration for the policy, which he called "misguided." But state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the policy was developed internally without direction from the governor's office. The agency did consult with the attorney general's office, she said.
A spokesman for Attorney General Bob McDonnell said he could not discuss the advice given to the state police.
Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey said the governor had no role in the policy, but added, "The governor is confident that Colonel Flaherty will direct all chaplains and all state troopers to follow the law."
