Return prayer to public high school graduations

High school graduation ceremonies are arriving soon across New Jersey, so might I suggest a little “civil disobedience” by parents and school officials. As part of commencement exercises, educators should schedule a short public prayer .

Yes, I know, most, if not all, public high school officials across the state will not take that kind of bold step for constitutional liberties. If asked, school officials will probably give the “politically correct” reason for excluding any prayer – it’s “unconstitutional” and “not inclusive.”

The real reason, as we know, is less idealistic. School officials have been utterly intimidated by the ACLU, which has doggedly threatened to sue any district that allows any hint of religious expression in the public square. Thinking this is one battle that they (literally) cannot afford to fight, even if they wanted to, school officials have mostly chosen the safe path.

In my view, that’s a mistake. Parents, teachers and school officials ought to make a stand for prayer at public high school graduations, as a simple matter of standing up for our constitutional liberties . It is also a matter of fairness . School officials ought to schedule an opening or closing prayer, even if they are not themselves particularly religious .

By the way, school officials are not particularly anxious to address this issue. Office staffers at the John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Edison informally told me last week that there will be no public prayer at the school’s graduation ceremonies on June 22. I asked that someone in charge call back to explain why there will not be a prayer, but no such luck.

In any case, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, apart from re-working by judges, is quite plain on the matter of religious liberty. The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

In other words, the federal government may not establish a national church. Nor may the federal government prohibit any form of religious expression.

The plain meaning of the text has been twisted, by the ACLU and others working through ideological judges, into its exact opposite. The federal government may not prohibit a free expression of religion has become … public prayers at high school graduations are not allowed.

• View topic - HS Student Stands Up Against Prayer at Public School...

Damon Fowler, an atheist student at Bastrop High School in Louisiana, was about to graduate. His public school was planning to have a prayer as part of the graduation ceremony: as they traditionally did, as so many public schools around the country do every year. But Fowler -- knowing that government-sponsored prayer in the public schools is unconstitutional and legally forbidden -- contacted the school superintendent to let him know that he opposed the prayer, and would be contacting the ACLU if it happened. The school -- at first, anyway -- agreed, and canceled the prayer. Before we get into the details, let's be clear about the facts and the law: Nobody -- not Fowler, not the ACLU, nobody -- is telling anybody at Bastrop High School that they can't pray. People can pray at graduations and other school events all they want. The sole issue here is whether a public school can have a prayer at a graduation or other school event as an official, school-sponsored part of the program. Individual prayer? Hunky dory. Off-campus prayers at churches or private events? Knock yourself out. Government promotion of a religious agenda? Not so much. What with the First Amendment and the "establishment of religion" bit and all. 1) Fowler has been hounded, pilloried, and ostracized by his community. He's become the center of what he terms a "shitstorm": he has been harassed, vilified, targeted with insults and name-calling and hateful remarks. He's been told t he's the Devil. He's been told, "Go cry to your mommy... oh, wait. You can't." (A reference to him being disowned by his parents.) He's been told that he's only doing this to get attention. A student's public prayer at a pre-graduation "Class Night" event was turned into an opportunity for the school and community to gang up on Fowler and publicly close ranks against him -- teachers as well as students. (Here's video). And people seen defending him have been targeted as well. As just a taste, here are a few comments on the Bastrop Enterprise news story about the controversy: "I personally see him as a coward." "I hope they [Christians] put enough pressure on this kid to convert him and save his soul from the fire of hell." "The kid was likely a recluse and apathetic about most everything until now." "If he don't want prayer at graduation he can stay at home and not come to graduation.

Prayer and religion in the public schools

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