PRINTER'S NO. 601
No. 28 Session of 1991
INTRODUCED BY VROON, GODSHALL, KOSINSKI, FLEAGLE, CLYMER, BARLEY, E. Z. TAYLOR, LESCOVITZ, DEMPSEY, TRELLO, HERSHEY, LEH, COY, NOYE, PITTS, M. N. WRIGHT, PESCI, BIRMELIN, JOHNSON, FARGO, CARLSON, HALUSKA, WILSON, LAWLESS, BATTISTO, GAMBLE, LAUGHLIN, SAURMAN, KASUNIC, GERLACH, COLAFELLA, BILLOW, CAWLEY AND ARMSTRONG, MARCH 11, 1991
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, MARCH 11, 1991
A RESOLUTION 1 Expressing concern about court-imposed bans upon expression of 2 religious thought and the mention of God at commencement 3 exercises. 4 WHEREAS, Many Pennsylvania public schools have a deeply 5 rooted and historic tradition of conducting commencement 6 ceremonies for graduating students that include speeches in 7 which student, school officials and other speakers occasionally 8 express religious thought and invoke the name of God and include 9 invocations and benedictions where clergy and other persons 10 offer prayer and invoke the name of God; and 11 WHEREAS, A few students and their parents, with the 12 assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), filed 13 lawsuits against school officials to prohibit invocations, 14 benedictions and ceremonies containing any religious traditions 15 at the commencement exercises for graduating seniors at the 16 Downingtown Area Senior High School and at the Owen J. Roberts
1 High School in Chester County, Pennsylvania; and 2 WHEREAS, These ACLU-initiated lawsuits resulted in the 3 issuance of Federal court orders banning prayer and other 4 religious traditions and prohibiting any ceremony or speech 5 mentioning God at the commencement exercises for the graduating 6 students; and 7 WHEREAS, These rulings could become a precedent for a 8 systematic eradication of every trace of prayer and any mention 9 of God at the graduation ceremonies of every public school in 10 this Commonwealth; and 11 WHEREAS, Robert Eldredge, President of the Downingtown Area 12 School Board, offered a brief prayer thanking God during the 13 course of his speech at the commencement exercises and for 14 graduating seniors at the Downingtown Area Senior High School; 15 and 16 WHEREAS, The objecting students, through their ACLU 17 attorneys, took the position that the school board president's 18 personal religious thoughts, as expressed in his speech, 19 violated the Federal court order, and filed contempt of court 20 charges against Mr. Eldredge; and 21 WHEREAS, This clear attempt to punish a speaker offering a 22 brief prayer during a public school graduation ceremony has 23 chilling implications for future speakers at commencement 24 exercises throughout Pennsylvania, including valedictorians and 25 other student speakers who will risk a lawsuit filed by the ACLU 26 if they mention the name of God or express religious thought 27 during their presentations; and 28 WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court, in Marsh v. 29 Chambers, has upheld the right of legislative assemblies to open 30 legislative days with prayers offered by chaplains paid for by 19910H0028R0601 - 2 -
1 the State; and 2 WHEREAS, The Supreme Court has declared, in this legislative 3 context, that "the content of the prayer is not of concern to 4 judges where, as here, there is no indication that the prayer 5 opportunity has been exploited to proselytize or advance anyone, 6 or to disparage any other faith or belief" and that under such 7 circumstances it is not for the court "to embark on a sensitive 8 evaluation or to parse the content of a particular prayer"; and 9 WHEREAS, The practice of offering prayer and mentioning God 10 at public school graduation ceremonies is similar in purpose and 11 impact to the prayers offered at the beginning of the 12 proceedings of legislative, judicial and other deliberative 13 public bodies, including the House of Representatives of the 14 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which opens its daily session day 15 with a prayer offered by a member of the clergy; and 16 WHEREAS, A fundamental distinction exists between prayer in 17 connection with daily or routine school activities, which are 18 more strongly imbued with the authority of the State, and prayer 19 and the mention of God's name at special events such as 20 commencement exercises, which are similar in nature to numerous 21 other civil ceremonies, which are attended by the parents, 22 relatives and friends of students and which are voluntary; 23 therefore be it 24 RESOLVED, That it is the concern of the House of 25 Representatives that such sweeping court-imposed bans upon the 26 expression of religious thought and upon the mention of God by 27 commencement speakers during graduation ceremonies may 28 inappropriately limit the free speech clause of the first 29 amendment in order to inappropriately expand the establishment 30 clause of the first amendment and may serve to create a 19910H0028R0601 - 3 -
1 troublesome entanglement between free speech and religion; and 2 be it further 3 RESOLVED, That it is the view of the House of Representatives 4 that reasonable prayer and the mention of God at commencement 5 exercises are legitimate and appropriate parts of a ceremony 6 commemorating an important event, as long as religious thoughts 7 are not exploited to proselytize or to advance anyone or to 8 disparage any other faith or belief; and be it further 9 RESOLVED, That it is the view of the House of Representatives 10 that an issue of such fundamental importance deserves to be 11 carefully reviewed through a full hearing and appeal process. L17L82JS/19910H0028R0601 - 4 -