Recognized Congregation?

[CoffeeBean]

The City Council voted to allow specific references to particular Gods, but only by members of "recognized congregations?"  

Recognized by whom?  What's the criteria?  What if my God doesn't recognize your God?  Whose God wins?  

Personally, I think its a bad idea.

[FOTD]

"Set out runnin' but I'll take my time,
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine!"
Garcia/Nelson/Hunter

They best recognize my congregation because we are everywhere!

[RecycleMichael]

"When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself."

Peter O'Toole


"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."

Voltaire


"I'm not normally a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me superman."

Homer Simpson


"I finally found out how priests get holy water. They boil the hell out of it."

Joan Rivers

[Ed W]

Where does a church apply to get the official government seal of approval?  I thought that pesky US Constitution prohibited that very thing.  But nobody pays attention to that dusty old piece of paper these days.

Then again, it means the council would have to honor requests from Satanists, Moonies, and maybe even Bokononists and Pastafarians or those nutjobs from Kansas.

[NellieBly]

When do the Wiccans get to start the meeting???

[sgrizzle]

I  the U.K. Jedi is an organized religion, scientology is not.

Here's an idea on what's popular in the U.S.:
http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html

[RecycleMichael]

I belong to "Our Lady of the NFL".

We meet on Sundays, from noon till about ten (central time), Monday nights, and sometimes Thursday nights.

Millions of Americans will watch our service this Sunday.

[inteller]

Does the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster count?  I think it has millions of followers.

[cannon_fodder]

Among the top 7 religions in the United States are:

Secularism/Not religious
Agnostic
Atheist
Wiccan/Pagan/Druid

So a full 15% of our population recognizes no god.  Does that mean we have to recognize that there might not be a god every other Tuesday so we keep things representative?  Or is "might not be a god" not a recognized congregation?

Add in a opening prayer to Buddha (#5) and a praise or two to Allah (#4) and it should be interesting.  

An interesting idea perhaps, but the workings of it are impossible.   It will end up being a pretense for a Christian prayer at every meeting and end with a court challenge costing the city tons of money.  I just don't think it is an earnest attempt to bring religions together - but an attempt to bring the counselors gods into politics.

Honestly, can you imagine having a Wiccan in to thank the trees for air, or a reading in Arabic,  let alone someone talking about how God doesn't exist.  This will all end in tears.

[rwarn17588]

Just ditch the whole thing.

I think a prayer before a council meeting is so blamed trivial.

If you're devout, you'll base much of your life or decisions on your faith anyway. If not, you don't. I don't see how a prayer makes any difference in the functionality of a city council meeting.