ith little of the publicity or fanfare which characterized previous efforts, Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Oklahoma) has again introduced legislation to return organized prayer to public schools.

   Dubbed the School Prayer Amendment, the measure would "permit but not mandate school prayer and other religious expression on public property," according to a press statement from Istook's office.

   The wording of the bill is nearly identical to previous legislation such as the much-ballyhooed Religious Freedom Amendment of 1999. The year before, the RFA failed to gain the necessary 2/3 vote in the House of Representatives, although it received 224 yes votes compared to 203 opposing.

   The text of the new School Prayer Amendment reads:

"To secure the people's right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience:

-- Neither the United States nor any State shall establish any official religion, but the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed.

-- The United States and the States shall not compose school prayers, nor require any person to join in prayer or other religious activities."

   The official announcement about Istook's School Prayer Amendment took place on December 20, 2001, but received little coverage in the mainstream media.

   "Even though it's Christmas, and is a critical time for our country, Americans are confused and upset by the religious intolerance," asserted Istook. "There's widespread confusion, thanks to conflicting court rulings, fear of legal costs, and the intolerant zealots who claim they are 'offended' when freedom of speech includes religious speech."

   Istook added that his bill "will stop the harassment and intimidation of those lawsuits, and free the American people to honor and respect God in public places." He cited disputes over posting the phrase "God Bless America," to an incident where students were told they may not distribute Christmas cards.

   The School Prayer Amendment omits some of the phraseology of the older RFA. Istook's original legislation stated: "neither the United States nor any State shall require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity, prescribe school prayers, discriminate against religion, or deny equal access to a benefit on account of religion."

   A press statement from Istook's office says that the new version "is narrower, focusing strictly on prayer and religious heritage."

   The bowdlerized legislation still won't pass constitutional muster, though, says American Atheists President Ellen Johnson.

   "Istook and his supporters are trying to deceive the American people by arguing that students can't pray in schools if they choose to, and that Washington needs to intervene," she said. "But this isn't about letting youngsters pray on their own time -- at lunch, riding the bus, or in silence during a study hall. Istook wants to get the government involved by creating situations where prayer will be scheduled as part of the official school day, which is clearly wrong."

   Johnson also pointed out that Atheist children, or even those from minority faiths, would be subject to even more pressure to join in religious activities than they are now.

   "We receive a steady flow of complaints from students and parents about 'prayer bullies' harassing nonbelievers, and trying to turn public schools into recruiting grounds for churches," she said. "This legislation would only make the situation worse."

   Istook's School Prayer Amendment is currently in the House Judiciary Committee.

   ¶    McCOLLUM v. BOARD OF EDUCATION, 333 U.S. 203, 212 (1948)
Struck down a practice in Champagne, Ill. which permitted clergy to conduct classes in religious instruction. Justice Felix Frankfurter opined that the public school was a mirror of society, "Designed to serve as perhaps the most powerful agency for promoting cohesion among a heterogeneous democratic people," and must be kept "scrupulously free from entanglement in the strife of (religious) sects." This requires "strict confinement of the State to instruction other than religious, leaving to the individual's church and home indoctrination in the faith of his choice."

   ¶    ENGEL v. VITALE, 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
A major step in abolishing mandatory religious ritual in public schools, the ENGEL case successfully challenged the so-called "Regents Prayer" in New York which had been composed by a committee of the state education authority. The effort had been to craft a "prayer" that would supposedly be nonsectarian and nondenominational, so as not to offend the sensibilities of various religious faiths yet still attract the attention of a deity. Atheists were simply ignored in all of this; but the high court ruled that the practice constituted entanglement between church and state.

   ¶    MURRAY v. CURLETT and ABINGTON TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT v. SCHEMPP, 374 U.S.203 (1963).
These two cases were combined under ABINGTON since they involved similar constitutional issues. The ABINGTON suit challenged a Pennsylvania statute which required reading of "At least ten verses from the Holy Bible" at the beginning of the school day." MURRAY challenged a rule of the Board of School Commissioners of Baltimore, authorized by state law, which required reading "of a chapter in the Holy Bible and/or the use of the Lord's Prayer" in schools. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the practices as violative of the First Amendment separation of church and state.

   ¶    STONE v. GRAHAM, 449 U.S. 39 (1980).
The high court struck down a requirement that Kentucky schools post the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The justices ruled that the Decalogue was a religious teaching.

   ¶    COLLINS v. CHANDLER UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (1981).
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found prayer at school assemblies to be unconstitutional.

   ¶    KAREN B. v. TREEN (1981).
Citing earlier Supreme Court decisions, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down organized classroom prayer.

   ¶    WALLACE v. JAFFREE, 472 U.S. 38, 72 (1985),
The high court struck down a state law requiring a "period of silence ... for meditation or daily prayer."

   ¶    JAGER v. DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT (1989).
The court let stand a lower ruling which found invocations at high school football games to be unconstitutional.

   ¶    LEE v. WEISMAN, 120 le 2D 467/112 sct 2649 (1992).
The Supreme Court ruled that clergy-led prayers at graduation ceremonies violated the separation of church and state.

   ¶    SANTA FE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT v. DOE (1999)
"Student Led" prayer at public high school athletic events is declared unconstitutional.

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