Defense of Religion Act meets its end in North Carolina

A North Carolina resolution that garnered national scrutiny for its assertion that the state and localities could establish a religion met a swift end Thursday.

The Rowan County Defense of Religion Act of 2013, filed Tuesday, argued the state does not have to recognize federal court decisions that regulate the establishment of religion.

But N.C. Speaker of the House Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, confirmed Thursday the bill will not advance.

The proposal drew skepticism from religious and government leaders.

“It would be funny if it wasn’t so daggum sad and scary,” said Pastor Mitchell Simpson of University Baptist Church, who initially thought the proposal was an April Fool’s joke.

Mitchell said Baptists believe the formal structures of religion do not belong in government.

The Defense of Religion Act lacked deep reflection, he said.

The resolution stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the N.C. American Civil Liberties Union against the Rowan County Board of Commissioners in March for its Christian prayers, said Mike Meno, spokesman for the N.C. ACLU.

A 2011 ruling by the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed N.C. law that prohibits prayers specific to one religion in government meetings, he said.

After the decision, the N.C. ACLU received complaints across the state about local governments not complying with the ruling, especially Rowan County.

“Ninety-seven percent of the prayers (from Rowan County) were specific to only one religious viewpoint,” Meno said. “It sends a message to citizens of different beliefs that they are not welcome,” Meno said.

Barry Jacobs, chairman of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, said the board does not begin meetings with prayer or any religious ritual.

The proposal confirmed his conviction to keep religion and government separate and abide by the federal Constitution, he said.

“We already fought a war over the issue of whether states can supersede the Constitution,” he said.

The N.C. ACLU sent a letter to the Rowan County Board of Commissioners last year asking for an end to its Christian prayers, but the board refused, Meno said.

The Defense of Religion Act specifically referenced the Rowan County case, stating Rowan County Commissioners are entitled to Christian prayer under the First Amendment.

But Meno said religion-specific prayers alienate citizens of differing beliefs.

“We are a diverse state and a diverse country,” he said. “We all have different views.”

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.