In Lee v. Weisman, the concept of prayer in school first arose. In 1989, the school Nathan Bishop Middle School in Providence, Rhode Island held a graduation ceremony. The principal, Robert Lee, had invited a Rabbi to speak at the ceremony and hold a voluntary prayer. However, the parents of a student immediately protested but the state courts rejected the family’s concern. The Rabbi attended and spoke at the graduation ceremony. He delivered the voluntary prayer. However after the ceremony, the parents who originally began the protest still sought litigious action and won the First Circuit Court of Appeals. The school district managed to take the case to the Supreme Court where, after much deliberation, the decision was found in favor of the Weismans, who was the originally protesting family. …show more content…
I believe that it would make most sense to logically assume that presenting a religious figure at such a diverse event would cause problems, especially if the event is a graduation ceremony from a government funded public school. I think that the principal was confused. He insisted that his actions were perfectly fine because the prayer that the Rabbi was going to hold was voluntary; however, what he failed to consider was the fact that the act in itself could have made others feel uncomfortable. He also didn’t understand that his selection would ultimately categorize him into a specific religion. This could have made non-religious students feel outcast; it could have created a sense of favoritism to those students who shared the same beliefs that he held. In general, the idea of having such an important school figure, such as the principal, publicly associate himself and his school with a certain religion is one that, if acted upon, could open the door for many