AMERICAN ATHEISTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT ELLEN JOHNSON, PRESIDENT AMERICAN ATHEISTS VOICE 201-334-4033, E-MAIL EJONBAND@AOL.COM OR CALL AMERICAN ATHEISTS 512-458-1244 PRESS RELEASE November 4, 1996 ATHEISTS PRAISE SUPREME COURT RETICENCE ON SCHOOL PRAYER American Atheists praises the U.S. Supreme Court today in its decision to not review state legislation that would have permitted "student led" prayer in public schools. Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, suggested that the reluctance of the Court to even hear the case demonstrated that justices "may prefer to stand by the existing, adequate safeguards for state-church separation, and avoid a potential 'activist role' in legalizing school prayer." Today's decision by the court was without comment, and left intact Circuit Court rulings which declared a 1994 Mississippi State law permitting so-called "student led" or "student initiated" prayers to be unconstitutional. Ms. Johnson noted that today's Supreme Court announcement affirmed the June ruling of U.S. District Court Judge Neal Biggers in the case of Lisa Herdahl, a mother who challenged the use of a public school announcement system for daily prayers. "The fact that a prayer is led or suggested by an individual student--or a group of students--doesn't change the fact that in a public school setting, it is still a coercive activity," noted Johnson. In previous decision, the courts have noted that students are a 'captive audience'. And just because school prayer is student led does not make it acceptable because we do not allow high school students to determine what activities are constitutional. Ron Barrier, National Media Coordinator of American Atheists was also pleased with today's decision. "Administrators, teachers and even other students have no business trying to orchestrate religious rituals of any kind in taxpayer supported public schools. * * *