You've got to fight for your right – to pray

Liberty Counsel's "I will pray" wristband

Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization, is on a mission to ensure student prayer and religious views are protected at spring commencement ceremonies with its annual "Friend or Foe" Graduation Prayer Campaign.

Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, said the organization is providing students and school administrators with a free legal memo on graduation prayer in advance of commencement exercises to prevent suppression of prayer and religious speeches.

"We sent the information out now, to get the legal memo in the hands of principals to resolve these matters before problems arise, so I anticipate in the next week or so we might start hearing of matters from different schools."

Liberty Counsel is also encouraging students to wear red wristbands with the inscription "I will pray" to graduation exercises.

In the landmark case Adler v. Duval County School Board, Liberty Counsel triumphed against the ACLU, confirming the right of schools to allow student speakers to conduct prayer or present secular or religious messages during commencement ceremonies. The case passed through federal appeals courts five times and was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court twice.

One suit Liberty Counsel filed on behalf of a student was the case of Russell Springs, Ky., graduating senior and class chaplain Megan Chapman. She was gagged with a court order obtained by the ACLU that strictly prohibited her from praying during the Russell Springs High School's 2006 commencement ceremony.

When the graduation began, there were an estimated 3,000 people seated in the gymnasium. Following the principal's introduction, the senior class stood and recited the Lord's Prayer as a showing of support. They received a standing ovation from the crowd. Chapman had originally planned to read a secular poem, but she chose to speak about her relationship with God instead.

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The late Rev. Jerry Falwell provided Megan and her sister with full scholarships to Liberty University, and CNN featured their story on "God's Christian Warriors."

"That was one of the most rewarding events we've ever experienced where one student had the chance to either remain silent or stand for Christ," Staver said. "She chose to stand for Christ, and He blessed far and beyond what she had asked or imagined."

In a 2007 case in Denver, Colo., a principal forced valedictorian Erica Corder to write an apology to her school community, threatening to withhold her diploma, because she said the name of Jesus Christ in her 30-second speech.

"We tried to resolve it through education, but it didn't work, and so we ultimately filed suit," Staver said. "That suit is still going. This month we will finally have a summary judgment on that case."

Staver expects that more cases will arise this spring, but he said his ultimate goal is to prevent suppression of religious invocations.

"The point of our campaign is to educate and, if necessary, to litigate to make sure that religious viewpoints and prayer are not censored from graduation."

 

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