Adam Duvernay

The (Shreveport, La.) Times

BOSSIER PARISH, La. — On July 4, a Louisiana sheriff and a team of supporters plan to celebrate their freedom to worship as they please.

Bossier Parish's top lawman, Sheriff Julian Whittington, doesn't see how it's anyone's business how or when he prays except the people who elected him to his office, and he believes those folks are behind him when he says, "In God We Trust." He'll be saying as much Friday at a rally offering food, music, fun and prayer.

"Not only am I elected to serve the people of Bossier Parish, but I live here and my family lives here. I think Bossier Parish is a better place with Christianity and Christian values involved in it. I am an elected official. I'm also a citizen here. I think this is what's best for us. I don't work for anybody in Washington. What they do, what they say, I couldn't really care less," Whittington said.

The second "In God We Trust Rally" won't use any public funds to pay for food or labor, Whittington said, though it will take place on property owned by the parish — the Bossier Sheriff's office substation in Bossier City, La.

The event will honor Bossier Posse members who served in World War II, recognition of the Bossier Young Marines and "patriotic and God-lifting music," according to an advertisement for the event created by the Sheriff's office. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal attended last year and has prepared a video message for the 2014 festivities.

"Last year, we didn't really know what we were doing and we had so many people, so much reaction from people, so we held the event and over 1,000 people showed up and said, 'We agree with you. For a nation that was founded on Christian values, our government was formed around it, it's on our money, it's in our oath, we pledge as elected officials, to somehow now say it's somehow taboo or you have to run with it is ridiculous. We agree with you. Stick with it,' " Whittington said.

Bossier City resident Holly Lanaghan agrees. She said everything — from schools to local governments — is improved by closer ties to God. She supports Whittington's stance and practices.

"It sure can't hurt. When you take God out, that's when things start going downhill. I think more people support the sheriff than don't," Lanaghan said. "There's one God and he loves everybody. It doesn't matter what title you want to hang on yourself. God is not about religion. He's about the relationship we should have with him."

But just because a community supports their sheriff in his open, Christian prayer doesn't mean it's his place, said Marjorie Esman, executive director of Louisiana's American Civil Liberties Union.

"If the event is held on sheriff's property, then by definition it is a public event that sends a message of government endorsement of Christianity. The building is paid for by public funds, and maintained by public funds," Esman said in an e-mail. "If the religious messages are overtly Christian and suggest that Christianity is better than other religions, and if there is a link to public funding or support, this would overstep the law. In any event, it sends a message to Bossier residents who do not adhere to Christianity that they are less than equal and not worthy of support by their sheriff."

The separation of church and state, as spelled out in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, prohibits the endorsement of a particular religion or of non-religion, and Esman said an event with such Christian overtones does just that. Whittington denies such events are aimed at influencing the thinking of Bossier citizens.

"But, somehow, the very basic things we were founded on are now not in vogue or out of style or might offend somebody is ridiculous," Whittington said.

The citizens of Bossier don't get to make that decision, Esman said.

"The Bill of Rights is not a popularity contest. We do not trust our fundamental freedoms to majority rule, because to do so would allow the majority to take away rights that belong to everyone. 'Big government' isn't intruding in anyone's life when we uphold the constitutional protections that belong to all of us, which includes those with minority opinions," Esman said. "The point is that the Bill of Rights exists to prevent the tyranny of the majority, The Supreme Court has not, now or ever, upheld the right of anyone to use government resources to impose a specific religious view on anyone else. Nor can they, because the First Amendment prohibits government from doing that."

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Town of Greece, N.Y. v Galloway where the issue was prayer before the town's public meetings, which were almost always based in Christianity.

The court ruled in a 5-4 decision the town did not violate the Establishment Clause because the town followed a long-standing American tradition of prayer before legislative sessions, because the prayer sessions did not exclude practitioners of other religions from participating and because there was no evidence the town was attempting to force a particular religious viewpoint on those in attendance.

While the case was focused more specifically on prayers before legislative sessions like city council meetings — which has implications for nearly every public meeting — it does not extend specifically to broader government-endorsed activities such as a rally on public grounds.

"It would not permit this kind of activity if there is a government connection. Whether there is depends on detailed facts," Esman said. " 'God-lifting' music on public property would be an endorsement of religion that goes well beyond what is permitted by Greece because it would not be short, transitory or preparatory to a public meeting."

That isn't the part of the Greece decision that concerns Whittington. What turns the sheriff's stomach is the 5-4 decision.

"That shows just how close, one vote, how that could very well be out the window sooner than we think. It's a good barometer for where we are," Whittington said. "It goes back to one reason people are so involved and feel so strongly about it. People are realizing that as well. For the most part, people have sat back and left it up to someone else and not worried about it. It's time to be worried."