Legal Challenge at Graduation Time

With every graduation season, comes new legal challenges.  This year is no exception.  This time, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin challenging the fact that a school is planning to hold its graduation ceremony at a church.   The suit argues that the location, the church facility, is an inappropriate venue and the move is unconstitutional.

The fact is that many graduation ceremonies are held in churches around the country every year.  The reason for this is simple and has nothing to do with religion:  the church facility, in many communities, provides the space needed to accommodate students, parents and friends for the graduation gathering.

Unfortunately, with this lawsuit, Americans United is trying to create a constitutional showdown.  The complaint cites that the plaintiffs are not comfortable attending the graduation ceremony in a building where they disagree with what Americans United calls the churchs "conservative viewpoints" on a host of issues.  This is a graduation ceremony not a church service.  There will be no preaching.  No evangelizing.  It's clear to me that the genesis of this lawsuit revolves around the fact that Americans United and its clients do not like the theological teachings of this church.  And that really has no bearing on the issue.  It has absolutely nothing to do with using the facility to host a graduation ceremony.  By holding the graduation ceremony at the church facility, the school district is not "endorsing" any religious viewpoint.

When I discussed this issue on Fox & Friends today I used a sports analogy that is also commonplace in communities across the country.  What happens when a Christian school has the home court advantage and hosts a public school team for a basketball game?  Should the game be cancelled because some students dont want to play in a gym in a Christian school?  Should we cover up religious symbols in the gym?  How about the uniforms?  What if the Christian school has a religious symbol on its uniform?  Should they cover that up, too?  Of course not. 

And, what about using churches as polling places?  Voting precincts are set up in the middle of neighborhoods communities specific areas where people live.  And, not surprisingly, thats where churches are located too.  Is there anything wrong with that?

Americans United wants to make this Wisconsin case about church/state separation.  In reality, they've admitted its about theology. 

We'll keep you posted as developments unfold.