Graduating, Without a Prayer, in Church
There are two seasons that bring with them the threat of law suits against school policies and practices. Christmas is one. Graduation time is the other.
Nathan Koppel at the Wall Street Journal reports that many schools face challenges to the practice of holding graduation ceremonies in church buildings. This is not a prayer-at-graduation issue. It’s about the site where the commencement exercises take place.
Schools like to use churches because they provide a large indoor space that easily accommodates graduates, families and friends. And the rent is cheap. Opponents to the practice argue that it fudges the church-state line. According to these folks, holding the ceremony in a church implies that the school is endorsing religion.
Nonsense.
The photo that accompanies Koppel’s article shows a judge walking around in a church, apparently to see if it’s too religious-looking. If that’s the standard, congregations whose church passes the test should feel pretty bad about it.
