Last week in Nurre v. Whitehead, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70049 (WD WA, Sept. 20, 2007), a Washington federal district court rejected a complaint by a student member of a high school wind ensemble that his constitutional rights were violated when school officials rejected the Ensemble's decision to play Franz Biebl's instrumental arrangement of "Ave Maria" at the 2006 Jackson High School graduation ceremony in Everett, Washington. Officials decided that all religious music should be kept out of graduation. The court rejected plaintiff's First Amendment speech claim, as well as her Establishment Clause and Equal Protection claims. The court held that the Ensemble's performance of "Ave Maria" at graduation would have borne the imprimatur of the school, and the state therefore had an interest in preventing possible Establishment Clause problems that would arise if the musical piece had been permitted.
UPDATE: Here is the full opinion in a non-proprietary database, thanks to Alliance Alert. And here is a recording of Biebl's version of the hymn via YouTube.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
School's Decision To Exclude Religious Music From Graduation Upheld
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6 comments:
This is utterly ridiculous, if the Christians dont step up here as many other situations that need addressed then what complaint will there be when they nock on your door and take you away for being a Christian, only 1/3 of those during the revolution would stand and fight for the cause while the other 2/3s free loaded from the benefits, Wakeup Christians!!!!!
The School District and District Court should be ashamed. The decision to eliminate "all religious music" at a public graduation ceremony can be described as intolerent, view-point discriminatory, and constitutionally unsupportable. Here again are intolerent, anti-Christian bigots seeking to snuff out any form of religious expression under the guise of the Constitution, all the while pressing their anti-God agenda in the public square. In fact, they've turned the 1st Amendment on its head and are using it to prohibit, rather than protect, religious expression. Singing "Ave Maria" does not violate the Constitution. For example, the US Supreme Court stated in McCullom v. Bd. of Ed., "Music without sacred music, architecture minus the Cathedral, or painting without the Scriptural themes would be eccentric and incomplete, even from a secular view" 333 U.S. 203, 236 (1948). The Constitution does not require that every government-sanctioned activity be unrelated to religion. (See 132 F.3d 542, at 554.) Praise to the High School student for the courage to stand up. - signed Esq.
By the Ensemble playing "Ave Maria", what law was passed by Congress respecting the establishment of religion? On the other hand, by this ruling, the court has prohibited the free exercise of religious expression. They truly have turned the First Amendment on its ear. Jefferson's phrase "separation of church and state" was originally coined to explain that the federal government had no power to intervene in State matters regarding religion - not to exercise federal bans of religious expression. Regardless of the legalese of high paid lawyers, the First Amendment is not hard to read nor difficult to understand: Congress shall pass no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;... It's pretty simple and straight forward.
What a change! I grew up in the Chicago North shore suburbs. My oldest sister graduated from a High School that was about 50-50% Christians and Jews. She was involved with the Choir there was a group of jewish kids who went to their Rabbi and wanted him to get them out of singing Christmas carrols. He told them to quit their complaining and that sining christmas carrols was good for them.
I wonder how the school would have handled the same very issue if the music was related to Islam? It probably would not have even gone to court...
From the article:
"The court held that the Ensemble's performance of 'Ave Maria' at graduation would have borne the imprimatur of the school..."
If the school is so wimpy and scared of "Establishment Clause problems", this concern could easily have been addressed by noting in the program that the ensemble's music choice was solely a decision of the senior musicians and in no way reflected the views or opinions of the school.
Here's hoping the court's lousy opinion is overturned on appeal.
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