Prayer issue in play

Editorial

This week's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower-court ruling barring student-led prayer at football games at Texas public schools puts the church/state issue back in play.

For residents of the Bible-belt state, where football itself is almost a religion, the decision by the nation's highest court to tackle the issue reflects concern about the incursion on church/state separation on public school campuses, and the need for assiduous monitoring.

While the case brought by a group of students and parents against the Santa Fe Independent School District addresses pre-game invocations broadcast over public address systems, it evokes broader constitutional issues of venue and propriety, as well as the inherent tension between free speech and freedom of religion, as protected under the Constitution's "Establishment Clause," which prohibits government from passing laws "respecting an establishment of religion."

The court will hear arguments early next year, and likely will rule by June, on whether the football field is an extension of the classroom and thus an inappropriate place for prayer, and also if pre-game invocations constitute coercive or voluntary prayer. The court decided in 1992 that clergy-led prayers at public school commencements violate church/state separation. The Texas school district maintains student-led prayer is protected speech and that athletic events, unlike graduations, are neither mandatory nor official.

Ballplayers and fans in Arizona and elsewhere, where football is a defining element of high school culture, might strenuously argue otherwise. Pre-game student-led prayers in the huddle are widespread here. Such activity makes many students and parents uncomfortable.

Monitoring religious activity, raising the consciousness of coaches and teachers and shoring up positive Jewish identity can offset potential uneasiness and embarrassment - and enhance team spirit, in the best sense of the word, both on the field and off.

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