This Friday, the Supreme Court will consider whether to hear an important case on the constitutionality of holding a high school graduation in a church auditorium. The case is Elmbrook School District v. Doe, and the court has been considering it for almost five weeks an unusual length of time indicating that the case has caught the court’s attention. The court’s decision will have sweeping implications for school districts and local governments across the country.
The case began in 2009, when a secularist organization sued the Elmbrook School District in Wisconsin for its decadelong practice of renting a church auditorium for graduation. The district chose the church auditorium at the request of its students, who complained that the prior venue the school gymnasium was cramped and uncomfortable, and lacked adequate parking, air conditioning and seating. It is undisputed that the district selected the auditorium for purely secular reasons namely, the convenient location, ample seating, free parking, air conditioning and low cost and that the graduation events were devoid of prayer or any other religious references.
Nevertheless, the 7th U.S. District Court of Appeals struck down the use of the auditorium as unconstitutional and held that the “religiosity of the space” would cause students to believe that the district was endorsing Christianity. Several judges dissented, arguing that the ruling showed hostility toward churches and would prompt unnecessary lawsuits against school districts across the country.
Read more: http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/18/how-hostile-to-religion-must-the-state-be/#ixzz2QsDIxytp
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