Written by Don Byrd
It’s May. That means flowers are blooming, the cover’s coming off the gas grill, and lawsuit threats are flying from all directions over commencement prayers. Am I the only one that gauges the time of year based on the church-state disputes in the air?
After complaints that last year’s graduation ceremonies contained too much inappropriate religious talk, Houston County schools in Georgia are going to try following the law this time around.
No prayers, hymns or religious references will come from Houston County school system employees at upcoming graduation ceremonies, but it doesn’t mean the events will be God-free zones.
In the wake of litigation threats over religious content in last year’s graduations, Superintendent Robin Hines said the law is clear that school employees cannot inject religion into the ceremonies, but what others may choose to do is up to them. Graduation is May 24-25.
This doesn’t make everyone happy, of course. Parents unaccustomed to the law being followed in their county’s schools are the ones complaining now. But school officials here are doing the right thing, choosing the First Amendment over the cultural traditions of the 1950s.
To read more about God and graduation, here’s a good BJC piece on the topic. The title sums things up nicely: “Graduation prayers should not do indirectly what is prohibited directly.”
