THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 22, 1995 TAG: 9505220046
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Public schools are already open to prayer, and a constitutional amendment on religion in schools could tip the balance toward coercing students, a senior White House official said Sunday.
But the executive director of the Christian Coalition, Ralph Reed, disagreed with White House adviser George Stephanopoulos, arguing that an amendment is needed to reverse the climate of hostility toward expressions of faith.
The two, appearing on NBC's ``Meet the Press,'' also differed on the need for the Christian Coalition's support for a constitutional amendment banning abortion.
Stephanopoulos said many Americans don't understand that current law allows students to pray in cafeterias, express their religious views in class or gather before school at the flagpole to say a prayer. President Clinton has no problem with prayers being said at certain graduation ceremonies, he said.
But a constitutional amendment, supported by the Christian Coalition in its ``Contract With the American Family'' announced last week, would blur the separation of church and state, he said.
Reed countered that the Supreme Court has made clear that religious leaders are not allowed to offer prayers at graduation ceremonies or sporting events. The only way to change that, he said, is either to limit the jurisdiction of the courts or change the Constitution.
What is at stake, Reed said, ``is a systematic marginalization of faith in the public square.'' If students want to have a rabbi come in and give a nonsectarian invocation at their high school graduation ceremony, ``we don't believe that anyone should silence or bludgeon those students into submission.'' ILLUSTRATION: Ralph Reed
by CNB