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Chino resident urges council to end religious invocations at public meetings, citing exclusion of non-Christians
Summary
During public comment at the Jan. 21 meeting, resident Saundra (Sondra) Rose urged the council to discontinue religious invocations at government meetings, arguing they exclude non-Christians and mix religion with secular government functions.
Saundra Rose addressed the council during public comment on Jan. 21 to ask that the City of Chino discontinue religious invocations at government meetings. Rose said she was speaking for community members who are not Christian and said public invocations can create an impression of exclusion and blur the line between religious practice and secular government.
Rose told the council she supports the court decisions limiting religious invocations at public government meetings and said the practice can make non-Christian residents feel alienated. "When you have the first public speaker give a religious invocation and ask that anyone who wants to join them may stand up, I feel publicly excluded because most of the time they end their public comment with something Christian," Rose said.
She asked the council to "discontinue your religious invocations at public government meetings," adding that government should not function as a theocracy and should represent all residents irrespective of faith.
The mayor thanked Rose for her input; there was no action proposed by the council during the meeting to change invocation procedures.
