New Riegel ends graduation prayers

NEW RIEGEL --- In May, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) was contacted by a concerned community member, resulting in a change to New Riegel Local Schools' graduation ceremony - excluding prayer from the service. Ceremonies had included a student-led prayer, in addition to a Catholic-specific Father Edmund F. Morman Scholarship, presented on stage by local religious congregation leader Father Timothy Kummerer. According to the FFRF, "By including prayer, in this case, Christian prayers, the school put students and families in the unacceptable position of choosing between exiting the ceremony or violating their conscience." The FFRF is a national nonprofit organization that aims to lead school districts to take action to abide by the First Amendment, and due to the foundation, New Riegel Schools will no longer include prayer at graduation ceremonies. "Students have the First Amendment right to be free from religious indoctrination in their public schools, including when participating in commencement ceremonies," said Sammi Lawrence, Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow for FFRF in a letter to New Riegel's Superintendent David Rombach. "Moreover, prayers at graduation needlessly alienate the students and families who are non-Christians, including those students part of the 49 percent of Generation Z that is religiously unaffiliated," stated a press release by FFRF. "The inclusion of a presentation of a scholarship commemorating a religious leader's faith-related work displays favoritism towards religion over nonreligion—and Catholicism above other faiths." Then, on Aug. 28 the FFRF reported its reasoning convinced New Riegel Local Schools officials to make changes to their graduation ceremony, and an email from Superintendent Rombach informed FFRF that the violation had been corrected. "Regarding awarding the Father Morman Scholarship, while we do not believe its presentation was unlawful, we will consider the concerns and perspective you raise as we plan future graduation ceremonies and awards presentations," Rombach said in an email to FFRF. "We have conferred with our legal counsel on the issues the FFRP raised and won't include a graduation prayer," he added. FFRF reported it is pleased to see a school district taking action to abide by the First Amendment. "Ending this state/church violation will keep the emphasis where it belongs at a graduation ceremony: on students and their 13 years of secular education and achievement," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.