ACLU asks Naval Academy to end noon prayers

Baltimore Sun

The ACLU and its Maryland chapter said today they have written a letter to academy leaders on behalf of a group of students urging an end to a practice in which chaplains say grace before mandatory lunch for the academy’s 4,200 midshipmen.

“The government should not be in the business of compelling religious observance, particularly in military academies, where students can feel coerced by senior students and officials and risk the loss of leadership opportunities for following their conscience,” Deborah A. Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland, wrote in the letter, sent May 2 to Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, the academy’s superintendent.

A spokesman for the academy said prayer or devotional thought has taken place at meals for midshipmen since the academy’s founding in 1845 and that there are no plans to end the practice. Prayers are nondenominational and have been rotated among representatives of different faiths.

[…]

The Naval Academy is the only military academy with mealtime prayer at mandatory meals, according to the ACLU.

Jeon said the ACLU was approached this winter by nine midshipmen who opposed the practice, which involves students who stand at “parade rest,” then bow their heads and fold their hands while chaplains recite a prayer. Midshipmen are not required to bow their heads, she said, but those who refuse to do so stand out and risk feeling ostracized, she said.

The academy has not responded to the ACLU’s letter, she said. “The only option that’s left is to file a lawsuit, and we are considering this,” Jeon said.

Complete ACLU release:

ACLU Calls For End To Mandatory Prayer At U.S. Naval Academy
Practice Violates Religious Freedom Of Academy’s Midshipmen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 2008

CONTACT: Will Matthews, ACLU, (212) 549-2582 or 2666; media@aclu.org
Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland, (410) 889-8555; media@aclu-md.org

BALTIMORE – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Maryland are urging the U.S. Naval Academy to stop forcing midshipmen to participate in the Academy’s compulsory “noon meal prayers.”

In a letter sent May 2 to Vice Admiral Jeffrey L. Fowler on behalf of a group of midshipmen who object to the prayers, Deborah A. Jeon, Legal Director for the ACLU of Maryland, asked that the Academy discontinue its requirement that all midshipmen stand in attendance at the daily “noon meal prayer,” a practice that violates their religious freedom and rights of conscience.

In the letter, Jeon makes clear that the ACLU opposes compulsory religious services mandated by the government, not voluntary religious exercises by Academy midshipmen.

“Members of the military have a right to pray or not pray as they personally see fit, and that right is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. It is one of the fundamental rights they put their lives on the line to defend in service to their country,” said Jeon. “But the government should not be in the business of compelling religious observance, particularly in military academies, where students can feel coerced by senior students and officials and risk the loss of leadership opportunities for following their conscience.”

In its letter, the ACLU documents how first-year midshipmen find themselves in a difficult position if their conscience dictates that they do not join in prayer, because they are expected to adhere as strictly as possible to official practices and not “stand apart” as nonconformists.

“Members of the armed services should never be coerced to engage in religious exercises in violation of their conscience,” said Col. Mike Pheneger, U.S. Army (ret.), a member of the ACLU’s Board of Directors. “The Academy should ensure that midshipmen understand the requirements, expectations and core values of officers, but it should not prescribe or even recommend that religion is the medium for achieving them.”

For First Classmen, being forced to participate in compulsory prayers can be particularly problematic. One midshipman told the ACLU that a squad leader who objects to the prayers is put in an unacceptable position of either violating his or her conscience or standing apart and setting a discordant example for subordinates.

“The military should be protecting rights of conscience, and not abusing those rights,” Pheneger said.

In response to complaints filed by several midshipmen, the Naval Academy earlier this year issued a document entitled, “FAQs about the USNA Noon Meal Prayer” that ignores the constitutional standards identified in a 2003 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which struck down as unconstitutional “supper prayers” at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). The Navy’s FAQs do not attempt to explain any legally significant difference between the Naval Academy’s noon meal prayer and VMI’s supper prayer. As the court’s decision made clear, “While the First Amendment does not in any way prohibit [cadets or midshipmen] from praying before, during, or after [meals], the Establishment Clause prohibits [military academies] from sponsoring such a religious activity.”

“The ACLU respects the important place religious faith holds among many in the military, and we have defended the fundamental right of religious communities, families, and individuals – including those in the armed services – to practice their faith freely and openly and without compulsion,” said Daniel Mach, Director of Litigation for the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.

A copy of the ACLU’s letter to the Naval Academy can be found online at: www.aclu.org/religion/gen/35756res20080502.html

Today’s New York Times story about the Naval Academy issue can be found online at: www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/us/25academies.html?scp=1&sq=neela&st=nyt

Additional information about the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief can be found at: www.aclu.org/religion/index.html

Additional information about the ACLU of Maryland can be found online at: www.aclu-md.org

Related:
ACLU letter (PDF)

Other stories:
NY Times

Other blogging:
Targuman