ADL Objects To Lunchtime Prayer At Naval Academy

The Baltimore Sun this morning reports on a letter sent to the US Naval Academy last month by the Anti Defamation League objecting to organized lunchtime prayer at the Academy. The ADL's June 17 letter objected to the Academy's requiring all the midshipmen to "stand in formation, before lunch, while the chaplain recites a prayer." Chaplains of different faiths rotate in giving the prayer. The Academy said that part of the reason for the prayer is to encourage future officers to understand other religions. In 2003, the ACLU had filed a similar complaint with the Academy.