An upcoming concert by contemporary Christian music artist Michael W. Smith has been threatened after a lawsuit by an atheist from Utah saying the City’s preparation for the show violates the separation of church and state. According to an article in The Christian Post, Smith’s concert at the Draper Auditorium in Draper, Utah, on July 24 was partially funded at first by the Draper City Council, whose contribution was refunded from later ticket sales. But a statement by Utah atheist Todd Ouzts, a Draper resident, said he wrote an inquiry to the City reminding them that the City Constitution “strictly prohibits public money or property from being used for any religious purpose.”
The Draper City Council denies any wrongdoing and said in a statement that with a local news outlet that “we’re not promoting religion or promoting anything like that. It’s just a performance and a show … We think we’ve done everything the way it needs to be done and so we’ll go forward with the show. People are counting on it. People have bought tickets, it’ll be a great performance.”
Smith himself commented that the threat of a lawsuit was “absurd” and “the craziest thing he’s ever heard.”
