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July 31, 2024
A Tennessee city has drawn the ire of atheist activists after openly honoring God.
Mt. Juliet authorities took an official stand July 22, passing a resolution calling the Lord the “Creator and King of all Glory,” and encouraging citizens to embrace prayer, if they’re so willing, WKRN-TV reported.
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The effort undertaken by city commissioners supports a Tennessee state resolution calling for July to be a month of prayer and fasting.
As CBN News previously reported, legislators in both the Tennessee House and Senate recently approved House Joint Resolution 803 (HJR 803), and the governor then signed it a difficult feat, particularly in an era when peopl e battle over the separation of church and state.
The Mt. Juliet resolution supports the sentiments in the state effort.
“We recognize that God, as the Creator and King of all Glory, has the authority to judge and to bless nations or states,” it reads, in part.
Mt. Juliet District 1 Commissioner Ray Justice, who said the resolution was unanimously adopted, explained the importance of prayer and thanksgiving, according to WKRN-TV.
“I think prayer is something that is important every day, several times a day, and when you are living in as divisive of a world that we are living in, you should do it as often as possible,” he said. “But these are my personal inclinations and beliefs.”
Mt. Juliet Mayor James Maness explained during the July 22 meeting why he chose to bring the state resolution to the city, explaining that it highlights many important issues.
“It calls for a time of prayer of fasting in the state,” he said of the resolution. “It names a number of issues that the state is calling upon citizens of the state of Tennessee to pray and fast about if they’re so willing to do so or inclined. This resolution just simply offers our support for that resolution.”
But The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an atheist activist group based in Madison, Wisconsin, reportedly wrote a letter decrying the Mt. Juliet resolution.
Hirsh Joshi, a legal fellow with FFRF, wrote that the resolution is “unconstitutional,” and that it elevates Christianity over other faiths or no faith at all.
“Religious proclamations, particularly those with references to Jesus Christ and a Christian lord, are unnecessarily divisive,” he continued. “If these counties dont rescind their own proclamations because we do represent atheists and agonists who do want equality, and if the government is unable to provide that, we will have to see the next steps after that.”
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