In Western Pennsylvania public schools prayer during or before sports games is generally pretty common. It’s also almost never seen anywhere else besides sports games. The coaches at these schools see it as a way to bring the teams together and get them motivated, oftentimes it seems to improve performance. They mention they don’t force religion onto anyone, the kids don’t have to participate in the group prayer, but they still encourage it. Coaches will also encourage players with minority religions to hold prayer, for more diversity. Some coaches state the only time they pray is in the locker room or before a game. It can be seen as negative to encourage students to pray considering it is something very private for some people.
The Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe case ruled that a policy permitting student-led prayer at high school football games violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Two mothers filed a lawsuit against a Santa Fe school, it was then ordered that religion can only be discussed in a non-denominational or non-judgmental way. The school adopted a policy for students to vote whether or not prayer will be held at graduations and football games, and of course, holding prayer always won. It then went to the Supreme Court after the policy received a lot of criticism and complaints. The Court ruled that the policy was unconstitutional, in the way the policy was put into place, it would no doubt offend a student or show that the school supports what is being said, no matter what.
The Superintendent of Alabama’s Trussville City schools got a letter demanding the district stop its practice of broadcasting prayer on the loudspeaker of football games. An example of one of these prayers was “Father, today we play as two separate teams, but we live as one body of Christ, as your hands and feet. And through it all we will play… ultimately to further your kingdom.” It doesn’t sound very inclusive of many religions. Similar to Santa Fe schools, people argued that prayer was held through student-initiated vote and was therefore protected by the 1st amendment, however as we know the Supreme Court disagreed. The Court decided these policies don’t protect those with minority views and places them under those with the majority view. The Constitution also doesn’t allow for schools to force students to choose to fully participate in prayer or sticking to their own beliefs.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court decided that prayer and football games just don’t fit with each other, legally. I completely agree with their decision on the legality of it in regards to the First Amendment, however I don’t necessarily agree this is how it should be. I feel it should be allowed for there to be some sort of compromise. Team members could separately pray in silence instead of someone holding a prayer as an entire team, which encourages everyone to participate.
Works Cited
“Many High School Teams Pray Before Taking The Court.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. N. p., 2019. Web. 1 Oct. 2019.
“Santa Fe Independent School District V. Doe.” En.wikipedia.org. N. p., 2018. Web. 1 Oct. 2019.
“Why Is Prayer Over A Loudspeaker At High School Football Games Unconstitutional?.” BJC. N. p., 2019. Web. 1 Oct. 2019.
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