In 1962, the United States Supreme Court invalidated prayer in public schools. In that case, the Court held that a state-composed prayer, read by teachers at the start of the school day, violated the First AmendmentÆs prohibition against the government making any law ôrespecting an establishment of religion.ö The Court has revisited the issue, in some form or another, several times in the intervening years, most recently in Lee v. Weisman.
In Lee, a middle school principal in Providence, Rhode Island, invited a rabbi to offer a nonsectarian invocation and benediction at graduation. The principal acted according to the policy of the Providence School Committee. Deborah Weisman, a 14-year-old student, objected, but the District Court denied her request for a temporary restraining order. Weisman attended graduation, and the rabbi conducted the observance. Afterwards, Weisman sought a permanent injunction prohibiting any invocation or benediction at future graduations. The District Court, applying the Lemon test, found that the schoolÆs actions advanced religion and thus violated the Establishment Clause. The District Court issued a permanent injunction, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The school district appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled five to four in WeismanÆs favor.
Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinion. He held that Lemon did not apply because the ôgovernment involvement with religious activity in this case is pervasive.ö Instead, Kennedy relied on Engel, finding the stateÆs decision to have prayer at the graduation ceremony little different from a state-mandated prayer in class. Kennedy emphasized the coercive nature of the exercise, particularly among primary and secondary school students, declaring it ôbeyond disputeàthat government may not coerce anyone to support or participate in religion.ö
Kennedy delineated the stateÆs involvement: First, the principal decided...