My reading of the ruling is that neither school officials nor students speaking in an official capacity, open or closing address for example, are allowed to use religious language.  Student not speaking in an official capacity are not restricted.  This is a correct interpretation of the Establishment Clause and does not violate individual free speech.

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Note too that if a student violates the court order the school will be liable. In the Louisiana case which had not gone to court the school agreed to have a non-prayer moment of silence which the student leading the “moment” choose to violate and say a sectarian prayer. It was met with raucous positive applause by the audience.

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Here is a link regarding the LA situation.

http://blog.au.org/2011/05/26/special-delivery-watchdog-groups-send-letter-to-obstreperous-la-school-officials-over-graduation-prayer-flap/

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at last, a glimmer of intelligence - without design of course !

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I have mixed feelings about this. Having gone to school in Texas I know that these things have a way of making christians feel “under seige” and even more likely to dig in their heels and “fight the immoral atheists.” Unfortunately there aren’t enough atheists or at least not enough willing to speak up and agree with the rulings when they happen. Everyone just nods their head and agrees or cheers when someone “boldly fights back” like the in the Louisiana example.

I wish this kind of thing would draw the right kind of commentary from the media also, but it doesn’t.

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I can’t believe people are trying to pull the “you’re infringing on my first amendment rights” card. Saying you can’t do a public prayer in school isn’t infringing on a damn thing. If you really can’t go five minutes without thanking your imaginary friend, do it to yourself. Or at the very least, just say you thank god at the end of your speech. A prayer involving everyone is just complete bull.

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To set this up properly it should be noted that I am a non-believer. I’m not a “bright” and I reject the fake term - it’s elitist and the same as someone preaching they are a Christian and it’s arrogant and it cheapens the meaning of being a non-believer. Being a non-believer is not a cause nor a movement and it sure as hell should not be political. You should simply be a non-believer and that’s the end of it.
    Now, the case mentioned above; to be honest I didn’t read all the information, only the general theme. Why do you care so much? It does not affect you. It can’t affect you if a student or group of students wish to pray whether in public or private. It doesn’t matter. If a believer wants to pray or publically state their belief or say “thank god” it doesn’t affect you. It only can affect you if you are required to join the prayer or discriminated against because of you non-belief. This arrogance of atheism has to stop because it is demeaning and undermining me, a non-believer. Your arrogance has turned it into a religion. Atheism already has a bad name and it’s getting worse and it’s all in your own doing just the same as the typical believer looks when we debate them. I think much of this is because of the arrogance of Mr. Dawkins and a few others like him. I follow his work. I loved “the god delusion” but I found his “putting the believer down flat out calling them stupid” to be bullish and frankly a step in the wrong direction. The arrogance of some atheists is the equivalent of the believer telling us we are going to hell. We call for accountability of the church but forget we are accountable. This position of attempting to remove the word god from everything is ridiculous and the same as the inquisition. Think not? You want to prohibit the believer from believing and remove all their symbology from public view. It is wrong. It is sad. I do not get offended when I read “god” on my money. If you do, you’re a fool. Afterall, many believe money is god being it’s so worshipped.  “under god…” is not offensive and I will fight for the believer to keep it in the pledge of alliegence because when it was started it was part of America’s belief structure. It’s tradition. It’s harmless and for you to fight against it is pointless.  Don’t say the word when giving the pledge. That ends the argument on the pledge and your rebuttals are pointless. Do you want to have the constitution rewritten in your atheist image? Do you want a nation under atheism?  I don’t. I want a nation of coexistence and equality. The responsibility lies on both sides. I simply fight for us in the capacity involving our government to be secular and devoid of religious influence. The law, the policy should be secular and by my meaning being that a law or judgment or policy be in a clear language that does not benefit or discriminate one side over the other. Every time an atheist is arrogant they have given credit to the believer in their defense against us. Freedom of religion means that the believer of a religion be allowed to believe and practice without fear of persecution. That means you, the atheist be allowed the same right as the Christian. It means nonbelievers and believers have to be tolerant of one another and respectful of letting each practice. It also means that neither group has the right to infringe upon the other and that the government does not recognize a religion, a belief, a non belief above another. It should be that we are Americans and that’s the only identity needed. I implore you to abandon this stupid and petty fight against the word god and believers praying. It is easily becoming atheism trying to shape the country in an atheist vision. This is not the meaning of non belief. Religion shouldn’t be a power and a ruling faction. Neither should atheism. We must be tolerant as well. Good day.

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@S.F.Smart:  you are confused between the state allowing folks to practice their religion, and the state endorsing religion, which is unconstitutional.  No one has any problem with folks praying anywhere they’d like, but at a function hosted by the US Government, like a public school graduation, prayer must emphatically not be allowed, it is just plain unconstitutional, and for very good reason.  You need to be able to distinguish arrogance from trying to uphold the constitution.  Another example is the Pledge.  You state incorrectly “when it was started it was part of America’s belief structure”; perhaps you don’t know “under God” was only added in the 1950’s as a (unconstitutional) bulwark against those godless communists?
I’m sure you view your rant as the level-headed musings of a moderate non-believer, but it seems you are just not up to speed on the wholesale onslaught on the constitution being waged by the fundamentalists, aided and abetted by the huge percentage of “moderate” believers, and apparently by “moderate” non-believers like yourself.

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