Prayer ruled out of order at council meetings

SAGUENAY, Quebec — Canada’s Supreme Court has ruled that a small town in Quebec may not open its council meetings with prayer.

In a unanimous ruling April 15, Canada’s highest court ruled that the town of Saguenay can no longer publicly recite a Catholic prayer because it infringes on freedom of conscience and religion.

The case dates back to 2007 when a resident of Saguenay complained about public prayer at City Hall.

The Canadian high court ruled that the country’s social mores have given rise to a concept of neutrality according to which the state must not interfere in religion and beliefs. The state must instead remain neutral in this regard. This neutrality requires that the state neither favors nor hinders any particular belief, and the same holds true for nonbelief. The court said a nondenominational prayer is still religious in nature and would exclude nonbelievers.

(RNS)