{"id":292,"date":"2010-06-18T19:05:15","date_gmt":"2010-06-18T19:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/06\/public-school-graduations-do-n.html"},"modified":"2010-06-18T19:05:15","modified_gmt":"2010-06-18T19:05:15","slug":"public-school-graduations-do-n","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/06\/public-school-graduations-do-n.html","title":{"rendered":"Public School Graduations Do Not Belong in a Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jay,
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

More
\nthan a week has gone by since a district court judge in Connecticut ruled<\/a> that
\na public high school could not hold its two high schools’ graduation ceremonies
\nin a cathedral, yet I haven’t heard any complaints from you!<\/span><\/p>\n

Americans
\nUnited, along with the ACLU of Connecticut, filed the lawsuit<\/a> on May 5 on
\nbehalf of two graduating seniors and their parents. This decision is a huge victory
\nprotecting the constitutional rights of all students. Our legal team worked
\nvery hard to secure this win. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of
\ncourse, I know you don’t agree. The American Center for Law and Justice
\nrepresented the school district, Enfield Public Schools, in their quest to retain First Cathedral as its graduation spot, despite the fact that this venue made several students feel
\nuncomfortable and sent the message to students that one particular faith was
\npreferred over others.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I
\nwonder if you would have defended the school if the graduation was being held
\nat a mosque, synagogue or Hindu temple? Do you think the Enfield Public School
\nDistrict would have dared insist that students should receive their diploma in
\na venue replete with these other religions’ symbols and iconography? <\/span><\/p>\n

Of
\ncourse not! Yet, the Enfield school board thought having the graduation
\nceremonies at this Christian venue was no big deal. <\/span><\/p>\n

What
\nis even more puzzling is that the cathedral wasn’t even the best venue. There
\nwere many other secular venues available that had all the benefits of the
\ncathedral and that were closer in distance to Enfield.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

Thankfully,
\nJudge Janet Hall saw this for what it was – an obvious constitutional violation.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“Upon
\nattending graduation ceremonies, a reasonable observer would conclude that the
\nBoard’s April 13, 2010 decision to use First Cathedral sends the message that
\nthe Board embraces the religious values, symbols, and ideas present within the
\nCathedral,” Hall wrote. <\/span><\/p>\n

“By
\nchoosing to hold graduations at First Cathedral,” she continued, “Enfield
\nSchools sends the message that it is closely linked with First Cathedral and
\nits religious mission, that it favors the religious over the irreligious, and
\nthat it prefers Christians over those that subscribe to other faiths, or no
\nfaith at all.” <\/span><\/p>\n

Since
\nthe 2nd<\/sup> U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied<\/a> the school’s expedited
\nappeal on the preliminary injunction ruling, next week’s graduation ceremonies
\nwill go on at the school, not at the First Cathedral. <\/span><\/p>\n

The
\ncourt’s ruling will ensure that no student or parent has to choose between
\nmissing their own graduation and being subjected to a religious environment of
\na faith to which they do not subscribe. <\/span><\/p>\n

I
\nhope this decision lets other public schools know that holding important events
\nat religious venues is never constitutionally acceptable.
<\/span>
To subscribe to “Lynn v. Sekulow” click <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jay, More than a week has gone by since a district court judge in Connecticut ruled that a public high school could not hold its two high schools’ graduation ceremonies in a cathedral, yet I haven’t heard any complaints from you! Americans United, along with the ACLU of Connecticut, filed the lawsuit on May 5…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[340,339,338,51,67,275],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-schools","tag-connecticut","tag-enfield-public-schools","tag-graduation-in-a-church","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-religion-in-public-schools"],"yoast_head":"\nPublic School Graduations Do Not Belong in a Church - Lynn v. Sekulow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/06\/public-school-graduations-do-n.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Public School Graduations Do Not Belong in a Church - Lynn v. Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jay, More than a week has gone by since a district court judge in Connecticut ruled that a public high school could not hold its two high schools’ graduation ceremonies in a cathedral, yet I haven’t heard any complaints from you! Americans United, along with the ACLU of Connecticut, filed the lawsuit on May 5…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/06\/public-school-graduations-do-n.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lynn v. Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-06-18T19:05:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rev. Barry W. Lynn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Public School Graduations Do Not Belong in a Church - Lynn v. 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Lynn writes frequently on religious liberty issues, and has had essays published in outlets such as USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Nation. Lynn also has op-eds published frequently by the McClatchy and Scripps-Howard newspaper chains. A member of the Washington, D.C. and U.S. Supreme Court bar, Lynn earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978. In addition, he received his theology degree from Boston University School of Theology in 1973. 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