Boston’s City Council did not discriminate against the Satanic Temple when it denied its request to deliver an opening prayer at a recent weekly meeting, a federal judge ruled.
In a 31-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley wrote that speakers delivering opening prayers “are invited at the discretion of the individual city councilors.”
“The evidence on record, however, suggests that the city councilors’ discretion was not exercised in such a way that individuals or groups were excluded from giving an invocation because of their religious beliefs,” she added.
Moreover, Kelley clarified that city council members “did not allow some requests while denying others,” adding that “the city councilors’ primary motivation in selecting an invocation speaker … has always been the individual or organization’s involvement in the community.”
Although the Satanic Temple argued in January 2021 that the denial violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Kelley ruled that the allegation lacked sufficient evidence.
CBN News reported that the judge also said that most of the invocation speakers have “been undoubtedly of a Christian denomination,” and speakers from a “diversity of religious views” have also been invited.
As Christian Headlines previously reported, the Satanic Temple held its annual SatanCon event in downtown Boston in late April. In January, the organization announced that it was dedicating the “largest satanic gathering in history” to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat, after the organization was prohibited from giving the opening prayer at a city council meeting.
At the time, the group said the event was dedicated to Wu “for her unconstitutional efforts to keep TST out of Boston’s public spaces.”
During the event, TST leaders were filmed shredding a Bible and ripping a pro-police American flag.
“In the satanic temple in Boston, Satanists shredded a Holy Bible and ripped up a pro-police ‘Thin Blue Line’ flag during their opening ritual this weekend,” tweeted Sarah Fields, president and director of advocacy for Texas Freedom Coalition, on April 30.
In the satanic temple in Boston, Satanists shredded a Holy Bible and ripped up a pro-police ‘Thin Blue Line’ flag during their opening ritual this weekend.
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) April 30, 2023
These lost individuals FEAR Christians. Satan fears the blood of Christ because it has the power to take everything away… pic.twitter.com/gVosTrJRy6
“These lost individuals FEAR Christians. Satan fears the blood of Christ because it has the power to take everything away from him. Christians are fearful of nothing because we know what authority has been given to us, and we know exactly where these people are headed if they don’t repent.”
Related:
Woman Tears Bible Apart during 'SatanCon 2023'
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
