Religious activists who support prayer chapels in Detroit public schools say that those who oppose this unconstitutional scheme are "naysayers." Should taxpayers end up funding religious indoctrination and ritual? Is prayer ever a good substitute for educational excellence?

he new head of the Detroit Board of Education has proposed that special rooms in the city's public schools be set aside for prayer and religious devotion. Darryl Redmond, appointed to the board in 1995 and elected to a full At-Large seat in 1996, says that he will make a formal resolution when the group meets again this coming week. Last Sunday, the board discussed the proposal; member Margaret Betts said that special rooms should be set aside in the schools "where a person can go and meditate or pray."

   Redmond is "pastor" at the True Rock Baptist Church, a position he has held since 1986. He served as Chief Chaplain for the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, and also holds positions on numerous local government boards and committees. Before introducing the prayer room proposal formally, though, Redmond began whipping up public support at local religious meetings, including an "anointing ceremony." He told the audience there, "This country is founded upon trusting in God," adding "In (sic) every dollar bill, it says, 'In God We Trust.' " Covering the prayer gathering, the Detroit Free Press noted: "The church's senior pastor, Bishop Wayne Jackson, said the ceremony was designed to give Redmond additional wisdom from God as he tries to move the school board in the right direction." Redmond described his idea for the prayer rooms as "an endowment of power from the Lord."

   Ms. Betts suggested that she would "be surprised if any other board members" opposed Redmond's call for school chapels. "The day we took prayer out of our school is the day we changed the personality of the whole environment."

   "We've got to bring what's right back."

   But the school prayer room proposal may be neither right nor constitutional. For decades, the US Supreme Court has stood firm in its interpretation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment and prohibited government endorsement of religion in the public schools. In 1948, for instance, the justices struck down religious instruction in public schools in the MCCOLLUM v. BOARD OF EDUCATION case. TUDOR v. BOARD OF EDUCATION (1954) let stand a lower court ruling against the distribution of bibles by outside groups like the Gideons. Mandatory bible verse recitation and prayer were ruled unconstitutional in historic decisions, especially MURRAY v. CURLETT and ABINGTON TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT v. SCHEMPP (1963). ENGEL v. VITALE, decided the year before, put an end to the notion of having children recite a government-composed "Regents" prayer which was proposed as a "nondenominational" ritual which would get the attention of god while not offending any one group's religious sensibilities.

   Prayer-in-school supporters, though, have tried a number of ruses to reintroduce religious instruction or ritual to the nation's classrooms. In the Detroit case, it remains unclear whether students would be compelled to visit the school prayer chapels, or would have the choice of opting out. It is also not clear whether Redmond is proposing that the prayer rooms be open for use during regular school hours, or whether students could be excused from regular class business in order to visit the chapels. Even so, the proposal is rife with constitutional problems; prayer chapels in public schools involves the use of taxpayer money for their construction and maintenance, and it creates the perception -- and fact -- that government is endorsing and advancing religion. Either of these points suggests that the establishment clause is being superseded by the Detroit Board of Education in order to do what it perceives as the "right thing."

   The constitutional problems with Rev. Redmond's school chapel idea, however, seem to be little or no obstacles for supporters of the proposal. Rev. Charles Ellis told those attending the recent "anointing" ceremony, "Hush the naysayers and those who are trying to sabotage the programs planned for our children." And the call for school prayer has now become part of a wider controversy in Detroit, namely the proposal that Mayor Dennis Archer appoint a new Board of Education in light of the dismal performance of students in the public school system. That move has the backing of Michigan Gov. John Engler, a fervent supporter of vouchers and other schemes to use government money in assisting private and religious schools. Several Board of Education seats are elected positions, so the Engler/Archer call for a new appointed body is seen by some as a "coup" against elected officials. Both sides in the dispute are now using religion to prop up their respective arguments. A spokesman for Gov. Engler's office, Rusty Hills, last week urged Detroit's religious community "to look at a page in the gospel that say, 'We've got to change and reform.' The sad reality is that kids in the current system don't have a prayer."

    Not to be outdone, however, Rev. Redmond told the Detroit Free Press newspaper that "he believes God is opposed to Engler's proposal."

   "God is never on the side of anyone trying to take away the voting rights of the people," declared the Board President, adding that "God was on the Israelites' side against the Pharoah and Egypt."

   Unfortunately, the Detroit battle over educational priorities is currently a no-win situation for separationists, as well as parents, students and teachers. On one side is Gov. Engler, a voucher supporter who many see as a threat to nonsectarian public education. Lining up against the governor is an array of religious groups, and the Board of Education which wants to use money to fund prayer chapels in public schools. The ultimate losers in this dispute will be students in metro Detroit, badly in need of education -- something for which prayer is a shabby substitute.

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