Someone has aptly said that so long as there are tests in math there will be prayer in schools. But prayers concerning solutions to story problems, being by nature private and silent, do not end up the subject of First Amendment litigation. The high-school football coach leading his players in prayer at the 50-yard-line is different, though as of yesterday, according to the Supreme Court, as acceptable as a cry from the depths about algebra. The one probably unusual opinion I have about the case relates to the question of "what Jesus would say." Seriously!
One side favors the decision because people have to be free to practice their religious faith. The other side condemns it because the coach is using his position to coerce students into participating in Christian prayers at the end of a school activity. Jesus, in the sermon on the mount, says:
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. . . . [Matthew 6, 5-8]
Standing on the street corner babbling like a pagan seems to me a lot like kneeling at the 50-yard-line, babbling like a football coach. The conservative justices imagine they've struck a blow for religious freedom, but they've merely given their imprimatur to shallow displays of religiosity. Sorry, Jesus says, not me.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, where there are still public schools, it's too bad that kids who want to play on the team will have to put up with this crap.
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