Shall We Pray - Graduation Prayers and Establishment Paradigms

Abstract

INTRODUCTION|The United States Supreme Court's decision in Lee v. Weisman, invalidating on Establishment Clause grounds a Providence, Rhode Island, practice of having clergy present nonsectarian prayers at the graduation ceremonies for both the public middle and high schools, represents yet one more skirmish in the ongoing battle delineating the constitutional boundaries of religious references in the public forum. The debate over the propriety of public prayer has animated much of the evolving Establishment Clause jurisprudence. Indeed, much of our modern understanding of Establishment Clause principles can be traced directly to public prayer cases. Unfortunately, the cases and interpretative paradigms cannot be easily reconciled...