Source: The Washington Times
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/11/prayer-to-stay-doctrine-free/
A member of the Fredericksburg, Va., City Council can no longer invoke the name of "Jesus Christ" in his prayers that open council meetings.
That decision by the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals represents the latest attempt by the courts to keep religious doctrine from influencing government policy.
The court doesn't want to squelch all prayers by city councils, only the ones that "advance a particular religion."
In the case of Turner v. City Council of the City of Fredericksburg, the religion was Christianity.
"So long as the prayer is not used to advance a particular religion or to disparage another faith or belief, courts ought not to parse the content of a particular prayer," the court ruled.
In other words, God is in, but Jesus Christ is out.
The dispute arose from a lawsuit filed by Hashmel C. Turner Jr., a part-time pastor of First Baptist Church of Love and member of the Fredericksburg City Council. His religious beliefs dictate that he normally end his prayers in the name of Jesus Christ.
That would have been acceptable until Nov. 8, 2005, when the council adopted a policy requiring all legislative prayers to be nondenominational.