In Arab, Alabama, the high school has had a tradition of having a religious ritual before football games: for a decade, every game starts with a prayer recited by one of the students. Superintendent John Mullins is the one who started having this religious ritual during official school events and now he's the one ending. Someone finally pointed out to him that it's unconstitutional.
"We don't know who has been offended. We apologize if we have offended anyone. We were just trying to have Friday nights the way our community felt was best and live our life and community the way we try to live our life," said Mullins.
Mullins started the game day prayers 10 years ago. He says at the time, two Arab High School students requested the public prayer. "It's clear, what we've been doing is not in compliance with the Constitution. We're going to cease doing what we've been doing," added Mullins.
All Arab High School football games will now begin with a moment of silence. "I am totally in favor of prayer, but understand the situation. I am behind Mr. Mullins 100 percent, said Arab High School supporter Byron Williams.
Source: WHNT
Should schools have an official time for prayers before, during, or after sporting events? Of course not, not even if the prayers are conducted by students. This is a clearly and unambiguous settled matter of constitutional law. On June 19, 2000, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled with a 6-3 majority that officially sanctioned, student-led prayers before football games at public schools violate the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.
The case was Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe and it's a landmark case in First Amendment law because it underscores the fact that the government has no authority to promote or endorse religion, religious beliefs, or religious practices. It also underscores the fact that the government doesn't have to be leading a religious ritual to be endorsing or encouraging it.
Unfortunately, John Mullins is going to have to spend some time educating the students about this decision and about the First Amendment:
Arab High School student Marshall Cater wants the prayers back. "They don't make us bow our heads and stop everything we are doing to pray. If you don't want to pray, or join in with it, you don't have to. They are not forcing anybody," said Cater.
Marshall Carter, like so many Christians in America, doesn't understand that the limits placed on government authority cover much more than just "force". Of course the government cannot "force" people to bow their heads and pray, but the government can't do other things as well. The government cannot: encourage prayer, endorse prayer, promote prayer, fund prayer, or anything similar. The government also cannot discourage prayer, attack prayer, and that sort of thing.
Why? It's all for the same basic reason: the government has no authority whatsoever over prayer or any other religious ritual. That's what "separating" church and state means: government is "separated" from religion and has no authority over religious matters. Students who want to pray can; those who don't can do something else. The government, however, won't get involved or take sides by picking any particular time for prayer, by providing assistance for prayer, by singling out any particular prayer for a privileged place, etc.
It's no surprise that Marshall Cater is so ignorant of the law -- judging by the comments on the article, the entire community is grossly ignorant about even the basics of religious liberty:
Students need to be able to pray before football games. The school itself is not the ones praying, it is student lead.
Well, students who "need" to pray before a game can still do so. No one is prevented from praying -- the state simply won't provide a loudspeaker and special time for prayer. Surely that isn't required for Christians to pray, is it? Only the most insecure and needy person would fear that their prayers don't count if the government doesn't give them a microphone, a loudspeaker, and tells everyone to stop and listen.
Then again, maybe that would describe a lot of Christians in America... I can think of more than a few who act just like that.
Why do "non-believers" seem to think that they right to get upset when Christians choose to worship publicly or anywhere?
Note how this Christian conflates "getting the government to promote my religious rituals" with "merely worshipping publicly." No reasonable adult could sincerely confuse the two, the differences are simply too great. So what's really going on? Are they deliberately lying, or has their privileged place in society gone on for so long that it really has warped their ability to think coherently?
I am very disgusted and appalled that Mr. Mullins would conform to one family and take prayer out of our home football games. If this one family was so badly offended, then let them move and take their children elsewhere. Prople amaze me.
They want to take God and everything he stands for out of schools, yet they let Satan in. Teaching our kids it is okto have premarital sex as long as they are "safe" and pass out condoms to our minor children... yet they get upset when it comes to praying before a football game.
Who is this Freedom FROM Religion Foundation anyway? My Constitution gives me Freedom OF Religion- not FROM religion. Mr. Mullins needs to take a petition to see who all is offended by banning our prayer- and stand up to this one family. Our priority should be to God and then to the school system, etc as he stated. This is a great injustice that has been committed.
I always love to read comments from the "love it or leave it" crowd. These are the sorts of comments which not only strike me as the most sincere, but also the ones that are saying outright what all the others are thinking, but have the good sense to keep to themselves. Put simply, it's: "We Christians are the majority, we own this nation, and we're going to use our power to get government to promote, endorse, and even enforce our religion -- so get used to it or get out."
This is, I think, a common starting point for the Dominionism of so many Christians in America: this nation belongs to us and we'll do whatever we want because others don't really have or deserve anything like equal rights or dignity.
THANKS MR. MULLINS YOU HAVE JUST SLAPPED EVERY ONE WHO HAS EVER SERVED , FOUGHT AND DIED RIGHT INTHE FACE. Our country was founded on the belief of religous freedom ONE NATION UNDER GOD. So if the AMERICAN belief of religous freedom offends you maybe you should move to a country with no freedom or belief in GOD. I HOWEVER AM FREE AND WILL CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR YOU BOTH.
Right, because people are serving in the military and even died in battle so that the American government can run roughshod over the rights and dignity of non-Christians. Notice how the ideal of "religious freedom" apparently only extends to Christians and their belief in their god. That's an important element of Christian Dominionism: religious "liberty" exists, but only the "liberty" to believe and do certain things.
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