The story so far: the letter of the laws of both of churches and states forbids the intrusion of one in the other's domain. Also, the spirit of the Constitution is aimed at the same end. How about the amendments to the Constitution?

The Bill of Rights was written to protect the minority from encroachment by the majority. The First Amendment states that the government cannot establish, promote, or prohibit the free exercise of religion. In a civil rights issue, the principle of majority rule does not apply. The issue must be decided by the courts, because the tendency of the majority is to oppress. The Supreme Court will decide whether prayer is a form of free speech, and therefore acceptable at graduation, or is an act of worship and therefore unconstitutional because it entangles church with state.

A Change of Tradition

Those who favor prayer at graduation stand by the fact that prayers have been part of the traditional ceremony for years. Traditions can be satisfying and stabilizing practices for people if they are meaningful, inoffensive, and egalitarian for all concerned. But even traditions need to be examined and changed when they no longer meet those criteria. Slavery was once a tradition as well as the unequal treatment of women. But because these traditional laws resulted in the unjust treatment of its citizens, they were changed.

Religion, periodically, also changes its traditions. Just last year, revision in the Mormon temple ceremonies were made by LDS church officials because some of the old traditional rites were found to be offensive to women and other religions. This change from tradition reflects insight and a greater sensitivity to people and therefore is more liberating and meaningful for its church members as a whole.

Prayer is a profound and private form of religious worship involving a person or a particular community of like people who have the same belief system. Therefore such prayers ought to take place where they are accepted and understood by all members of the group or audience.

Schools should be a place where students all live together as a solid group of Americans leaving religious differences outside. Denominational prayers, especially offered by the same religion, tends to nullify the equality of the students which the Consitution seeks to establish, because they reveal one viewpoint, and they have the effect of state sanction.

When prayer creates community dissension, or is felt as a coercive practice, then it is time we change our tradition and keep prayers exclusively in our hearts, our homes, and our places of worship.

--Nancy Moore