Football field is latest school prayer battlefield

The volatile and emotional fight over engaging in prayer on the grounds of a public school recently jumped back into the headlines, and did so with a regional flavor.

Bremerton, Wash. High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy was placed on paid administrative leave because he ignored orders to stop engaging in group prayer before and after football games.

The practice, which began in 2008, has only recently got the attention of administrators and naturally has ignited a firestorm of opinions. Kennedy has of course hired an attorney to battle the Bremerton School District in court, should their one-on-one efforts to reach some accord fail.

Kennedy’s prayer is one of thanks for being able to be with young men and help guide them in a part of life’s journey. Part of the message is that of players arriving as rivals and leaving as brothers.

Prayer in public schools has been a battleground for some 60 years, ever since 1955 when the so-called “Regents Prayer,” first came under fire and was later successfully challenged in court.

Opponents such as Steven Engel, a Jew, did not want to see his sons engaged in Christian prayer and later argued it constituted the state-sponsored establishment of religion and was in violation of both the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Following Engel’s 8-1 Supreme Court win in 1962, and a subsequent decision in 1963 in the Abington School District vs. Schempp case that made reading the Bible and reciting the Lord`s Prayer unlawful in public schools, prayer within the confines of a school was against the law.

But the challenges have continued ever since. With some 30-odd protestant religions — and the Catholics among Christian belief groups thrown into the mix — arriving at any consensus likely requires intervention from God to sort out.

In briefly examining the Bremerton district’s policy, it dovetails somewhat with what is in the U.S. Constitution, that government shall not promote establishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof.

In Kennedy’s defense he is not asking, nor is he forcing anyone, to partake in the prayer so it’s not entirely an endorsement of religion.

Another question is, what if students were the ones doing the kneeling first? Eastern Washington University football players do a quick pregame prayer en mass in the north end zone of Roos Field, and they’ve been known to gather near midfield at the conclusion of a game, too.

The Cheney Free Press Editorial Board looked at this in a slightly different light, which, to our knowledge, has not been discussed, that being the origins of prayer in the first place.

The Bible calls for a specific way to pray.

It’s very specific in fact and part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Simply put, it says when you pray don’t stand out on the street corner so everyone can see you, but do it in private so God hears you.

Prayer is meant to be a private thing, one-on-one with whomever it is you wish to communicate your message. It should come from the heart and is not meant to be displayed publicly, unless that public is in a house of worship.

With that in mind, perhaps, the whole idea of these public displays of affection to the almighty need to be reexamined.

People of faith need to reevaluate their concept of prayer and the Bremerton School District needs to look at its policy going forward.

Until then the only ones who win here are attorneys.