County Road 98 in Polk County, Fla., was scrubbed today by a group of atheists who are protesting the "Polk Under Prayer" campaign, supporters of which poured olive oil on the road last year in an anointment ceremony.
"Mainly we want this to be a safe haven for folks who want to raise their families," explained Polk Under Prayer organizer, Dr. Richard Geringswald, according to ABC News affiliate WFTS-TV in Tampa. "Asking God's protection from ne'er do wells and evil doers."
Ellen Beth Wachs, the president of Humanists of Florida Association and Atheists of Florida, said that she feels unwelcome as an atheist in the county.
"This anointment ritual was to call out the angels to check each car that entered the county, to make sure they were Christian, and if they weren't Christian, they would either follow Christian beliefs or get put in jail," Wachs told ABC News.
Wachs said the eight members of the Humanists of Florida Association who brought buckets of water to the roadway today did so in jest.
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SOURCE: ABC News
Olivia Katrandjian
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