Written by Don Byrd
High school graduations are a time to honor graduates and their families. It should be a time of dignity and celebration for all. That is why courts consistently rule unconstitutional efforts by public school officials to use the occasion to promote religion. Graduates of all faiths and no faith should be able to be full participants in such an event.
In Missouri’s Lebanon School District last month, a principal protested this very sensible constitutional safeguard by finding ways during his remarks to introduce his religious viewpoints and prayers without overtly praying.
Here’s a snippet:
“So while it would not be politically correct for us to have an official prayer this evening, I would like for us to have a moment of silence in honor of tonight’s graduates,” Lowery told students. “Thank you. And just in case you’re interested, during my moment of silence, I gave thanks to God for these great students, their parents, their teachers and for this community.”
Adorable, right? No.
First, he’s simply incorrect. Having an official prayer is not merely “politically incorrect.” Official prayers at public school graduations are unlawful. They are constitutionally incorrect. While a moment of silence may be an acceptable alternative, school-sponsored prayer violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom.
This principal’s conduct, however, goes beyond just being wrong about the law.
Facing a captive, diverse audience, a scheme like his – belittling the ban on school-sponsored prayer, sneaking in the substance of his own prayers – is not cute, or courageous. It demeans the spirit of religious freedom for all; it marginalizes – purposefully – the students and families who do not share his religious views; it undermines the dignity of the ceremony and distracts from the true focus of the moment.
What will anyone in attendance remember apart from his rhetorical backhand to the law of the land? This school official used a moment that should have been for students and their families to instead call attention to, and glorify, himself as somehow the most clever and most pious person in the room. He likely heightened conflict and division in the community in the process.
More adults, please.
