First Liberty Institute (FLI) has sent a letter to Carlsbad City Council alleging the city’s manager, Scott Chadwick, had ordered two volunteer chaplains to stop closing their prayers with the commonly cited Christian phrase “in Jesus’ name,” the Christian Post (CP) reports.

Located along California’s coastline, the popular tourist destination has a population of 115,000.

It’s alleged that Chadwick had told the two chaplains, J.C. Cooper (police) and Denny Cooper (fire), that the phrase not only created a ‘hostile work environment’, but was considered to be harassment of non-Christians.

In her complaint letter, Re: Censorship of Chaplain Prayers, FLI Counsel Kayla Toney stated:

“Because the chaplains cannot in good conscience erase the name of Jesus from their prayers, this order deprives first responders of the solace and spiritual strength that the Chaplains’ volunteer ministry has provided for nearly two decades.”

Toney added, ironically, that the city manager has in fact created a hostile work environment for Christians while claiming to be stopping it.

In an interview with CP, Toney noted that while there has been a growing hostility in America towards people of faith, “the laws were changing in a positive direction.”

Prayer is increasingly being targeted by secularists around the world. In December 2022, three mind-reading British police criminally charged a woman who they allege was praying silently near an abortion clinic. The crown prosecutor dropped the charges in February 2023.