The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota urged the Minnesota Legislature to end its practice of opening sessions with prayer.
In a Letter to House & Senate Leaders, the ACLU-MN said abolishing the invocations would be respectful of the state's religious diversity and more in keeping with constitutional principles. At a minimum, the ACLU-MN asked that the legislative body should ensure that opening prayers are non-sectarian.
The ACLU-MN letter comes in the wake of the recent controversial prayer by Bradlee Dean and the prayer earlier this session led by Pastor Campbell in the Minnesota Senate.
On May 20, 2011, in his invocation, Dean stated, " I know this is a non-denominational prayer in this Chamber and it's not about the Baptists .... or the Presbyterians the evangelicals or any other denomination but rather the head of the denomination and his name is Jesus. As every President up until 2008 has acknowledged. And we pray it. In Jesus' name."
The ACLU-MN believes that this is especially disrespectful because he was invited to speak on a day when the House was believed to be voting on the marriage amendment, because Dean is well known as an outspoken anti-gay activist.
"The Minnesota Legislature is designed to represent all Minnesota residents, regardless of faith," said Charles Samuelson, Executive Director, "While we applaud Representative Zellers for his apology, we urge you to refrain from opening future sessions with any type of prayer, so as to ensure that religious freedom is protected for all."
In the letter that the ACLU-MN sent to the Minnesota House, they noted that the Supreme Court has allowed prayers to open legislative sessions if they are non-sectarian and non-proselytizing. But Dean's invocation, the group said, violated both conditions.
"Any reasonable observer," the ACLU letter said, "would have understood that Bradlee Dean's prayer - featuring multiple references to ‘Jesus' - promoted Christianity."
The ACLU-MN is a non-partisan organization committed to protecting the United States and Minnesota Constitution. Operating since 1952, the ACLU-MN has over 8,500 members committed to protecting liberty, and religious freedom for all.