MADISON, Wis. — A federal court ruled Sept. 9 that two Wisconsin public high schools’ practice of holding graduation ceremonies in a church did not violate the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.
A divided three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against nine pseudonymous plaintiffs who claimed forcing graduates to attend ceremonies in a highly religious and sectarian setting was an establishment of religion barred by the First Amendment. Upholding a lower-court’s ruling, the appellate court agreed that public-school students may not be compelled to participate in religious activities but distinguished that from the mere viewing of religious symbols.
The judges said the Elmbrook School District in southeastern Wisconsin did nothing wrong when it honored requests of seniors at two high schools to move their graduations from hot and crowded school gyms to the more spacious and air-conditioned Elmbrook Church, a local nondenominational congregation with trappings including crosses and other religious symbols.
The plaintiffs, all non-Christians, said the venue made them uncomfortable and implied endorsement of the church’s teachings about other religions. The court agreed the atmosphere was “indisputably and strongly Christian,” but rejected their argument that all graduation ceremonies held in houses of worship necessarily convey a message of endorsement.
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