The "culture wars" continue in Alabama, as state legislators approve a moment-of-silence bill for the public schools. One school district admits wrong doing in a case involving bullying of students who were forcibly made to pray and write a religious essay.

UPDATE: RELIGIOUS INTIMIDATION IN PIKE COUNTY Officials in Pike County, Alabama have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Wayne and Sue Willis over the treatment of their children in the local schools. News reports note that while the county school board did not official admit to improper conduct, it did admit to the facts of the case. This included: -- One of the children had his head forcibly bowed during a classroom prayer. -- Another child was forced to write an essay on "Why Jesus Love Me."    The county has agreed to reimburse the Willises for their legal expenses; the agreement also spells out what type of conduct is permitted or prohibited in public schools relevant to First Amendment issues. According to the Huntsville Times newspaper, "The agreement's points generally follow those delineated by the federal court in a DeKalb County case."

he question of prayer in public schools classrooms and courthouses remains a volatile issue in Alabama. Last week, the state legislature approved a bill mandating that each school day begin with a period of silent reflection; introduced by Rep. Perry Hooper Jr (R-Montgomery) the proposal sailed through the House 69-18 in January, and cleared the state Senate in a 33-0 vote. Governor Fob James, an enthusiastic supporter of prayer in classrooms, declared that he would sign the measure into law.

    One legislator, Sen. Hinton Mitchem (D-Alkbertville) who supported the Hooper bill, said that passage would "have a calming effect on the school- prayer issue."

    It's not the first time that state solons have tackled the controversial issue in hopes of finding some way of getting prayer or other religious ritual back into public school classes. And the new bill comes at a time when controversy over the role of religious expression in public institutions remains a centerpiece in political debate throughout the state.

    Passage of Hooper's proposal is seen as part of a continued reaction to a ruling by U.S. District Judge Ira DeMent, who struck down the state's 1993 prayer law which permitted so-called "student led" prayer and religious invocation in classrooms. In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled against another Alabama law which permitted teachers to set aside a period of time for meditation or silent prayer. In both cases, the courts noted that the practices could not be defended on secular grounds.

    Rep. Hooper's proposal, introduced in November, 1997, affects public school classrooms, although according to the Huntsville Times, he sends all three of his children to a private Christian academy. It is modeled on similar legislation from Georgia; unfortunately, in 1995 a U.S. District Court in Atlanta upheld the constitutionality of that law. At issue is whether or not the moment of silence or reflection is really a "back door approach" to instituting religious exercise in the class room as many critics charge. If the measure is indeed secular, you wouldn't have noticed the fact judging from the groups who have embraced Rep. Hooper's bill. When it was introduced, Hooper was joined by a number of religious activists at his news conference, including Bob Russell, chairman of the Christian Coalition of Alabama. He provided a shabby and transparent excuse for the legislation, saying that students who pray on their own "are looked upon as (if) doing something out of the ordinary."

    "There are students that sincerely want to start each day with prayer," argued Russell. "But in this hectic world we live in today they drive to school or Mom takes them, they rush in and immediately are in their school day." Russell then pledged to mobilize the 20,000 Coalition members throughout the state to support the Hooper bill.

    Judge DeMent's ruling was recently extended in another finding concerning practices in the DeKalb County, Alabama schools. Last October, in a suit involving an assistance principal with a school-age son, DeMent found illegal and bullying religious activities throughout the school district. The Judge then issued 164 pages of clarifying order outlining what was permissible, such as students praying on their own during period breaks, lunch, coming or going to school. Officially sanctioned activities, though, including the business of the school day, could not be the venue for any prayer or religious activity, said DeMent.

"Training" Required in First Amendment Rights

   Since DeMent's ruling, there has been considerable resistance from state officials. Governor Fob James has called upon citizens to "resist" any order striking prayer from classrooms or other government venues, and both James and his Attorney General, Bill Pryor came close to endorsing a series of "spontaneous" walkouts and protests by a small number of students over the issue. Tomorrow, nearly five hundred teachers and staff members from DeKalb County's eight schools will be at a presentation detailing the proper role of religion in public schools. Ordered by Judge DeMent, the assembly is designed to educate teachers over the nuances of the ruling. Reaction has been mixed, although most teachers seem to support the purpose of the First Amendment training.

    Another factor contributing to tensions in Alabama has been the controversy of Etowah County Judge Roy Moore, known for posting a hand-carved Ten Commandments plaque above his dais, and opening court sessions with a Baptist invocation. A challenge by the Alabama Freethought Society put a temporary end to that; but Attorney General Bill Pryor and Governor Fob James then attempted a disingenuous legal maneuver by filing suit, hoping to force the state's Supreme Court to rule favorably on the practice. That lawsuit was dismissed on January 23, but in the process vacated the earlier ruling against Moore and his courtroom proselytizing. On April 10, the state court refused to reconsider its decision in the Moore case, turning down a request for a rehearing which had been filed by Attorney General Pryor.

Another Challenge

    Now, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit on behalf of a family in Troy, a small town in the southeastern corner of Alabama. It charges that schools in Pike County are essentially abusing and persecuting four Jewish children who are refusing to pray and write essays and other school assignments which have a religious content. ACLU State Director Olivia Turner informed today's Washington Times, "For quite a few years, we've had a governor who's been a blatant supporter of prayer in public school and who's used his office to promote prayer."

    She continued, "This includes having teachers read Scripture, various kinds of devotional exercises at compulsory school events and many compulsory rallies where there was preaching and praying."

    Lining up in defense of James, Moore and the idea of prayer in the public schools is Dean Young, a religious activist who heads the Christian Family Association. Young has organized rallies across the state in support of Moore and the Ten Commandments display, and has successfully encouraged groups in other states to demand that the Decalogue be displayed in county courthouses. Young considers tomorrow's court ordered sessions for teachers a form of totalitarian interference by federal courts, a view shared by the Governor and many other public officials. He insists, "Alabamans would never force someone to have prayer, but voluntary prayer is ingrained in our society."

    But Young's group didn't speak out against former state laws which mandated prayer and religious exercise; nor does the CFA address the notion that especially in grade schools, students are often a "captive audience." In addition, there is considerable legal evidence to show that students who buck the trend and resist teacher of "student initiated" prayer often face ostracism, abuse and even physical violence at the hands of belligerent "prayer warriors" more intent on spreading the Gospel than in respecting constitutional rights.

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