South Carolina’s attorney general has joined a Town Council in its appeal of a federal court ruling that it cannot pray to a specific god before meetings.

Attorney General Henry McMaster said Tuesday that last month’s ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is “illogical and unhistorical.” A three-judge panel barred the Great Falls Town Council from using the name Jesus in its prayer before the start of meetings.

The town has asked the full appeals court to rehear the case, and McMaster has filed a brief with the court in support of that appeal.

“It is illogical and unhistorical to conclude that while a prayer for Divine guidance is constitutionally acceptable, prayer to a Divine Being is not,” McMaster wrote in his brief.

The precedent-setting ruling ends a centuries-old tradition in some states and applies to government meetings in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.

The case began in 2001 when Darla Wynne, who practices the Earth-centered Wicca religion, sued the Great Falls Town Council for invoking Jesus Christ during meetings. Wynne said council members used the prayers to draw attention to her religious beliefs and ostracize her.

The three-judge panel of the appeals court agreed and issued its ruling.

McMaster also had filed a motion in support of Great Falls’ previous appeal and said he would continue to support the town if it loses in appeals court and chooses to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.