(8)Nothing in this section shall apply to any assembly or meeting of a purely religious character held in a recognized place of worship, any assembly or meeting gathered together purely for the purpose of taking part in sports, any procession on the occasion of any wedding, funeral or similar domestic occurrence, or of any religious ceremony, or to any public meeting held under any statutory or other express legal authority, or to public meetings convened by the sheriff, or to any public meetings or class of public meetings exempted for that purpose by the State Government by general or special order.
