Philip wrote:Somehow, I didn't think you'd accept something simple that would satisfy this. What I suggest has been considered constitutionally fine for 200 years. What has changed?
What you suggest is still Constitutionally fine as far as I know, so if that's what you're referring to nothing has changed. The coach has the right to pray, lead prayers, preach the word, and so forth when he's off the clock. In this instance he was illegally leading a prayer while on the clock. School officials say they were unaware of the practice, but I doubt that's true. How can you possibly be unaware that a football coach is leading prayers on the field and has been for years? Hundreds of people must have seen it happen. I think it's more likely that they chose to ignore it until someone forced their hand. School administrators don't go looking for conflict.
If your question is broader - what was changed in the country to make it so that things that were once common occurrences are no longer okay - I think that it's an example of special privileges long taken for granted being challenged by people who don't get special privileges and don't think anyone else should, either. After a couple hundred years of struggle, strife, and negotiation it's become generally accepted that the word "men" in "all men are created equal" means "human beings" and that there are no additional qualifiers or special privileges. It's also become generally accepted that the separation of church and state exists and applies to all religions equally, with no special exceptions or loopholes. I think that's progress, but I can see how people who are accustomed to getting special privileges might disagree.
The separation of Church and State is nothing new, but the U.S. has always had a Christian majority and for some people being in the majority means that rules that apply to others don't apply to them. What we're seeing now is just push-back. Christianity should never have been granted special status, but it happened. Now other religions (and smart-aleck atheists looking to make a point) are demanding the same consideration. Moderate Christians mostly seem to see their point, but conservative Christians are in a bind. They can't argue that Christianity gets special status because they already lost that fight, and they're not willing to permit Satanist, Pagan, and Muslim displays next to their crosses, mangers, and Ten Commandments statues. The result has been a lot of confusion, frustration, and rage. I get how they'd feel that way, but they're wrong.
School-led prayer was never constitutional. Neither were Christian monuments outside courthouses. This is not, and never was, a Christian nation. It's a secular representative democracy. Our motto is not In God We Trust, it's E Pluribus Unum - Out of Many, One.
