Kentucky School Removes “Prayer Lockers”
October 23rd, 2019
A high school in eastern Kentucky’s Pike County has announced its decision to remove prayer lockers from its hallways after receiving complaints from an organization that advocates for the separation between church and state.
How the Case Arose
Signs on lockers at Pike Central High state that students are permitted to confidentially slip in pieces of paper with requests for other students to pray for them. Photos of the prayer lockers were then posted by the school’s art department and a student to Facebook. One of the lockers states that it is sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The post additionally thanks a teacher at the school for giving students the idea to create prayer lockers.
Response to the Prayer Lockers
After being made aware of the prayer lockers’ existence, the Americans United for Separation of Church and State organization sent a letter to Pike County Schools requesting the lockers be removed.
The organization’s argument for the removal of the lockers was that these units were likely a violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. An attorney for Americans United States has since stated that this situation is a reminder that public schools cannot display religious messages and cannot encourage students to pray or engage in religious activity.
The organization points out that federal courts have long articulated that students are permitted to organize religious activities that occur on school grounds after school hours but are prohibited from using school resources or school staff to communicate religious messages.
In response to Americans United, Pike Central High now has a student receive prayer requests personally. This action comes after students at the school attempted to argue that they were not forcing anyone to put a prayer in the locker. The students also expressed confusion over how anyone could see anything wrong with this religious activity and that it was merely a wonderful gesture, which has since been taken away by Americans United.
Kentucky and Other Church and State Separation Issues
This case involving the prayer lockers at Pike County High is just one of several recent cases in Kentucky that question the required degree of separation between church and state. For one, Kentucky’s Governor recently caused controversy with a tweet that encouraged students to bring their Bible to school for a day. Also, beginning in 2019, Kentucky schools are required by state law to display the national motto “In God We Trust” in a prominent location. Americans United argues that prayer lockers are not any different from displaying the national motto and that neither action should be permitted.
Tracking Developments in Religious Rights
Many of the rights related to religious freedom in the United States can be traced back to the required separation between church and state found in the United States Constitution. While these laws are hundreds of years old, each month there are several developments in how these laws are interpreted. Continue reading the Universal Life Church’s blog each month to stay up to date with these developments.
