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The U.S. Military Academy is launching an inquiry into a prayer led by coaches following Army’s opening-day victory over Temple last week. Video of the post-game invocation was pulled offline on Monday after West Point officials received a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Mikey Weinstein, who heads the MRFF, said he received complaints from six members of the football team, two of whom he said identified as Christians, as well as dozens of Army graduates and staff who took exception to the religious expression.

The U.S. Supreme Court on May 5 upheld the practice of voluntary prayer before public meetings by a 5-4 ruling, drawing praise from those who said such prayers are a long American tradition that avoids censoring religion. “Opening public meetings with prayer is a cherished freedom that the authors of the Constitution themselves practiced,” Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel David Cortman said May 5. “Speech censors should have no power to silence volunteers who pray for their communities just as the Founders did.” Cortman said the Supreme Court “affirmed that Americans are free to pray.” “In America, we tolerate a...

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – A high school football coach in North Carolina has been ordered to cease leading his team in prayers following a complaint by a prominent atheist activist organization. Officials with the Mooresville Graded School District recently told Mooresville High School football coach Hal Capps to stop leading the Blue Devils in prayer, and Capps has agreed to discontinue to the practice. The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) had contacted the district last fall after learning of Capps’ practice and asserted that the prayers were unlawful. According to reports, a parent of a student had complained to...

The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on whether or not the sectarian prayers offered at a New York town's meetings are constitutional. The highest court in the land will hear an appeal from a lower court decision regarding Greece, N.Y.'s practice of having explicitly Christian prayers open town meetings. Known as Galloway v. Town of Greece, the lawsuit was filed by two residents of Greece who felt the sectarian prayers made them feel excluded from the public affairs of the town. Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens, the two plaintiffs, are being represented by the Washington, D.C.-based group...

Even though they were warned there could be trouble, a Kansas school board nevertheless voted to allow student-led prayers and even use of the school's public address system to do so. At its meeting on September 23, the school board in Liberal voted unanimously (7-0) to allow student-led prayers at all school activities and to provide access to the school's public address system. According to the Leader & Times newspaper, the item was added “spontaneously” to the agenda near the end of that meeting. “We do live in a democratic society, and I personally feel like our community would support...

The Freedom From Religion Foundation blasted what it called the “open defiance” of a valedictorian who delivered The Lord’s Prayer during a high school graduation ceremony last Saturday in South Carolina. Roy Costner, a senior at Liberty High School in Pickens, created national attention when he ripped up his pre-approved graduation speech and instead led the crowd in a recitation of The Lord’s Prayer. A video of the speech was posted on YouTube and has since gone viral. It shows the 18-year-old setting aside his speech. “I think most of you will understand when I say, ‘Our Father, who art...

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has signed a bill that could lead to student-led prayer over school intercoms or at graduations or sporting events. The American Civil Liberties Union says the law is likely to prompt a lawsuit.

<p>A student who objected to prayer being part of Bastrop High School's 2011 graduation ceremonies enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union. However, another student whose role was to call for a moment of silence during Friday's ceremony led the audience in prayer despite the ACLU objections.</p>

This is unbelievable… Now they won’t allow our seniors to pray before meals. When did America become a communist regime? Senior citizens are no longer allowed to pray before meals at the Port Wentworth’s Ed Young Senior Citizens Center near Savannah, Georgia. Local officials say the meals are now provided with federal money and therefore the seniors are not allowed to pray before meals.

<p>The city of Lodi is facing a possible lawsuit after the City Council voted to support a policy of saying prayers before council meetings.</p> <p>After the vote Wednesday, an official with the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation repeated the group's threat to sue the city.</p>

Frank Lay, Pace High School principal, and Robert Freeman, the school's athletic director, will appear on criminal contempt charges for offering public prayer in a public school. The administrators face up to 6 months in jail and a $5,000 fine for offering a mealtime prayer. Lay and Freeman go on trial today at a federal district court in Pensacola for breaching the conditions of a lawsuit settlement reached last year with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). By violating the court order, the two are in danger of being found in contempt of court.

Students, teachers and local pastors are protesting over a court case involving a northern Florida school principal and an athletic director who are facing criminal charges and up to six months in jail over their offer of a mealtime prayer. There have been yard signs, T-shirts and a mass student protest during graduation ceremonies this spring on behalf of Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and school athletic director Robert Freeman, who will go on trial Sept. 17 at a federal district court in Pensacola for breaching the conditions of a lawsuit settlement reached last year with the American Civil...

Students, teachers and local pastors are protesting over a court case involving a northern Florida school principal and an athletic director who are facing criminal charges and up to six months in jail over their offer of a mealtime prayer. There have been yard signs, T-shirts and a mass student protest during graduation ceremonies this spring on behalf of Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and school athletic director Robert Freeman, who will go on trial Sept. 17 at a federal district court in Pensacola for breaching the conditions of a lawsuit settlement reached last year with the American Civil...

Hard to believe... but apparently this is true. A principal and an athletic director are facing criminal charges for a saying a prayer over lunch. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Pace High School in Santa Rosa County, Florida. The ACLU claimed some teachers were...

A principal and an athletic director are facing criminal charges for a lunch-time prayer. Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Pace High School in Santa Rosa County, Florida. The ACLU claimed some teachers and administrators were endorsing religion, but the school chose to give in to the ACLU's demands rather than fight them in court. According to the settlement, all school employees are banned from engaging in prayer or religious activities before, during, or after school hours. Now two school officials are facing criminal charges for offering meal-time prayers at an appreciation dinner for adults...

A principal and an athletic director are facing criminal charges for a lunch-time prayer. Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Pace High School in Santa Rosa County, Florida. The ACLU claimed some teachers and administrators were endorsing religion, but the school chose to give in to the ACLU's demands rather than fight them in court. According to the settlement, all school employees are banned from engaging in prayer or religious activities before, during, or after school hours. Now two school officials are facing criminal charges for offering meal-time prayers at an appreciation dinner for adults...

Mayor Chesapeake Alan Krasnoff Chesapeake, Va., Aug 5, 2009 / 06:30 am (CNA).- Following complaints from a Wisconsin-based atheist group against a Virginia city that opens public meetings with prayer, the Alliance Defense Fund and the Family Foundation of Virginia have offered to provide pro bono legal assistance if the city adopts a prayer policy that is challenged in court.The 14,000-member Freedom From Religion Foundation had sent letters of complaint to the city of Chesapeake, Virginia because of what the group called its “illegal practice” of routine opening prayers at its public meetings.ADF Senior Legal Council Mike Johnson, speaking...

Members of the graduating class of 2009 at Florida's Pace High School have expressed their objections to ACLU restrictions on statements of religious faith at their school by rising up en masse at their ceremony and reciting the Lord's Prayer. The incident happened just days ago, but has been virtually ignored by media outlets throughout the region, according to officials with Liberty Counsel, a legal team representing Principal Frank Lay and teacher Michelle Winkler in their battle with the ACLU, which had complained that faculty and teachers were talking about their beliefs. Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace, a Santa...

Santa Rosa County, FL - Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace High School stood up in protest against the ACLU and recited the Lord’s Prayer during their graduation ceremony on Saturday. Many of the students also painted crosses on their graduation caps to make a statement of faith. This event follows a lawsuit the ACLU filed against the Santa Rosa County School District, claiming some of the teachers and administration endorsed religion. Liberty Counsel represents Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and school teacher Michelle Winkler. The graduation prayer protest by the students was preceded by a lawsuit filed six...

U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case of Football Coach Prohibited from Bowing Head During Team's Pre-Game Prayer, Lets Stand Prayer Ban WASHINGTON, DC - In a blow to athletic coaches across the country, the United States Supreme Court has refused to weigh in on the question of whether or not high school football coaches have a right to silently bow their heads as a sign of respect while their student players offer a pre-game prayer.