No more invocation in Hawaii Senate

Chad Groening - OneNewsNow

A political activist and pro-family leader is outraged that the Hawaii State Senate has bowed to a threat from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and voted to cease opening its sessions with prayer.

The January 21 vote came after the ACLU threatened to sue because of a single complaint from Mitch Kahle, the founder of Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church (HCSSC).

"I'm told from a friend who lives in Hawaii that paganism has made a big comeback in Hawaii [and] that you don't go around knocking the native gods," reports Robert Knight, senior writer for Coral Ridge Ministries and senior fellow at The American Civil Rights Union. "I had thought that Christian missionaries had pretty much Christianized Hawaii, and I know there are a lot of good Christians there, but I think this is still shocking that they'd go this far."

And Knight laments that while the Hawaii Senate has bought into the "separation of church and state argument," it does not seem to have any trouble promoting Islam.

"In 2009, the Hawaii Senate chamber approved an Islam Day resolution, and it shows that there's a double standard here," the senior writer decides. "Something that celebrates or acknowledges Christianity, it's verboten. But when you celebrate Islam or anything else, then it's OK. That's multiculturalism; that means anything but Christianity."

However, he has been told there is an effort afoot to bring prayer back to the Senate chamber.

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