Typically at this time of the year, we are discussing a new round of contentious debates over graduation prayers. Can local clergy deliver an invocation? How about the valedictorian? Or a person the senior class votes? Can school officials censor graduation speeches to avoid church-state violations? Must they?
But this year the focus so far is not on the content of graduation ceremonies but their location. USAToday's Greg Toppo reports:
The newest battleground could be a church building itself — and whether it's a proper venue for public school graduation ceremonies. In school districts searching for ever-bigger venues at bargain prices, churches are an appealing (and weatherproof) alternative to civic centers, high school gyms and athletic fields.
…
Barry Lynn, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, says the move "violates the idea of neutrality about religion" laid out in the U.S. Constitution and makes non-Christian students feel like second-class citizens.
