A city council in Florida has decided to ban prayers at city council meetings after a threat of a lawsuit from a Satanist who wants to lead the invocation.
Activist Chaz Stevens has asked leaders of Coral Springs and other Florida cities to recite a Satanic invocation in city council meetings, according to the Christian News Network.
Stevens, who placed a Festivus Pole made of beer cans at the Florida Capitol rotunda, requested that if the city council allows representatives of one religion to pray, it should allow others.
"My project is named Satan or Silence. That sums it up," he said, threatening to file a lawsuit against any city that will refuse his request.
Coral Springs officials did not reply to Stevens for week but later decided to stop prayers at meetings rather than allow Stevens to lead the invocation.
Mayor Skip Campbell said the decision was because of a potential lawsuit.
"I don't think our citizens would be in favour of Satanic invocations before City Commission meetings," Campbell told the Sun Sentinel. "The cost of fighting that could be astronomical. I don't see [how] we as a city should be paying lawyer fees for fights on principle. I can find a lot of better things to do with a couple hundred thousand dollars than to give to a lawyer."
After Stevens' request to say a prayer at Pompano Beach was denied as he was told that he must belong to a church, he established the "First Pompano Beach Church of Satan."
He was again denied as policy required prayers to be solemn and respectful.
"[Y]our numerous emails indicate that you have no intention of delivering an invocation based upon your religious beliefs, no matter what they may be," officials told Stevens, "but instead intend to make a mockery of the proceedings, by, as you indicated, 'twerking' and/or bringing a mariachi band to perform."
