Church/state separation: U.S. court rulings

Quotations. Overview. Prayers
at graduation ceremonies, etc.

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Quotations

	"Americans are being denied the right to express their religious speech in the public square." Ralph Reed, Christian Coalition.
	"There is no such source and cause of strife, quarrel, fights. malignant opposition, persecution, and war, and all evil in the state, as religion. Let it once enter our civil affairs, our government would soon be destroyed. Let it once enter our common schools, they would be destroyed." - Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Weiss v. District Board, (1890-MAR-18).
	"The [First] Amendment's purpose... was to create a complete and permanent separation of the spheres of religious activity and civil authority by comprehensively forbidding every form of public aid or support for religion." U.S. Supreme Court, Reynolds v. United States (1879)

Overview

The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as interpreted by the courts, guarantees that:

	individuals will have freedom of religious expression;
	the government and its agencies will not recognize one religious faith as more valid than any other faith or secularism;
	the government and its agencies will not promote religion above secularism or vice versa.

These principles are continuously in a state of creative tension.

	Many Americans feel that prayer forms part of their religious expression; thus they want their children to pray in public school classrooms, their school board to pray before its meetings, etc.
	Many non-Christians and secularists are opposed to prayer, particularly if it contains Christian themes.
	Others feel that a wall of separation must be maintained between religion and the government and its agencies; they regard this factor as outweighing their personal religious consideration.

Summaries will be posted below of important, recent court rulings that impact on the separation of church and state, starting in 1999-MAR. Court decisions involving prayer inside public school buildings are located elsewhere.

Prayers at public school graduation ceremonies

A 1992 decision "Lee v. Weisman" by the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited "prayer, benediction, or invocation at any graduation ceremonies" if they were directly conducted or sponsored by a public school board. However, lower courts have ruled in recent years that some graduation prayers are legal. Some school boards have attempted to circumvent the 1992 decision by sponsoring prayers indirectly, by authorizing students to deliver them. More details on this topic.

Prayers at public high school sports events:

Various courts have found that an individual student or group of students may exercise their freedom of religion by initiating impromptu prayer at school sporting events. However, school officials may not add a prayer to the schedule of a game. More details on this topic.

Prayers before boards of education meetings:

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals decided on 1999-MAR-18 that the Board of Education in Cleveland, OH, cannot pray before their meetings. The court ruled that prayers are an illegal endorsement of religion. ₁

However, there is probably some wiggle room available to boards: they might be able to engage in a rotating series of prayers, recitations of secular philosophies, secular thoughts on life, etc. This technique replaces prayer to God with a cultural expression, and might be found legal. It would also probably be unacceptable to many members of the boards of education because of the inclusivity of the prayers/statements.

Reference used:

The following information source was used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlink is not necessarily still active today.

1. Religion Today news summary, 1999-MAR-19.
2. Bill Mears, "Ten Commandments before high court. Explosive church-state issues from Kentucky, Texas," CNN,com Law Center, 2005-MAR-01, at: http://www.cnn.com/

Copyright © 1998 to 2010 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Original publishing date: 1998-AUG-5
Latest update: 2010-JAN-31
Author: B.A. Robinson

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