Posted on 06/01/2010 3:40:28 AM PDT by Man50D
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) -- A federal judge ruled Monday that two public high schools can't hold their graduations inside a church because that would be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.
U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall's ruling followed an Enfield school board vote in April to hold graduation ceremonies for the town's two high schools at The First Cathedral in nearby Bloomfield.
Board officials said the church, which fits 3,000 people, had enough space at the right price. Two students and three of their parents sued, claiming the decision was an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
The judge agreed, citing a visit to the church during which she viewed an environment "overwrought with religious symbols," including large crosses on the building's roof, over the main entrance and behind an indoor stage.
"A reasonable observer attending the 2010 Enfield graduations would perceive the message that Enfield endorsed the readily perceptible religious views of First Cathedral based upon the character of that forum which Enfield schools selected," she wrote.
A telephone call to a listing for the head of Enfield's board of education, Gregory Stokes, was not immediately returned Monday, Memorial Day.
Both high schools have held previous graduations at First Cathedral, and this year's ceremonies were scheduled for June 23 and 24. Several other Hartford-area schools also have used the church since 2001.
This year, groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and Americans United for Separation of Church and State warned they'd sue if Enfield didn't stop holding graduations at the church, which is about 15 miles southwest of the town.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
The right thing to do of course would be for the school to cancel any publicly administered graduation ceremony and allow for the students themselves to organize one or more private ceremonies with their parents picking up the costs.
This way, any venue can be acceptable, no prayers can be stopped, and everyone will be happy.
Can’t be easy to find an inside venue to hold 3,000 people....guess they will need to rent out the Civic Center in Hartford for big bucks or hold the graduation at Foxwoods Casino.
Stupid judge....The purpose of being there isn’t religious...It’s graduation.
Since when is renting a building the same as congress establishing a religion?
We really need to start drug testing our "judges".
“Since when is renting a building the same as congress establishing a religion?”
Of course it is nothing of the kind. I cannot understand why if in the 18th and 19th century America, where school were often held in the local church during the week without complaint, does it become an issue today? A similar thing happened here on Long Island a few years ago. Evidently, a public school had been using a local church to hold some classes that they were unable to fit in their school building. One person out of nearly one thousand parents complained and the local judge considered it unconstitutional. It made no sense. But I think it is because that one anti Christian person making the complaint, has views which match the presiding judge’s. What a world.
I attended a High School Graduation ceremony last week, and it was in a church and you may find this interesting, this was in California.
The High School in question is a small one and does not have an auditorium so the larges building available is a church.
So hold it on the football field. I hope it rains!
The judge has the intelligence of a goat.
They aren’t endorsing a religion, they’re exploiting a church and renting space.
Another common case of Christophobia.
BS. Churches are used for voting all the time.
Interesting. My son’s public elementary school graduation last week was held in a Catholic church. I don’t think a single person was offended.
Further proof that liberals and idiot judges can’t even read the U.S. Constitution, let alone apply it. Further, unless I missed something while I was asleep last night, schools were still pretty much not a federal institution. Does their state Constitution contain language prohibiting the free exorcise of religion?
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