Full 7th Circuit Revives Church Graduation Suit
The judges split 7-3 on Monday in favor of the plaintiffs.
“Regardless of the purpose of school administrators in choosing the location, the sheer religiosity of the space created a likelihood that high school students and their younger siblings would perceive a link between church and state,” according to the 34-page lead opinion authored by Flaum. “That is, the activity conveyed a message of endorsement.”
High school graduations are ubiquitous in American life - a compulsory school event for all practical purposes - a factor that heabily increases the chances that non-Christian attendees would feel like outsiders to a favored religion, the court said.
“True, the district did not itself adorn the church with proselytizing materials, and a reasonable observer would be aware of this fact,” Flaum added. “But that same observer could reasonably conclude that the District would only choose such a proselytizing environment aimed at spreading religious faith … if the district approved of the church’s message.”
A church environment could also coerce students to accept Christianity, the judges found.
“The only way for graduation attendees to avoid the dynamic is to leave the ceremony,” Flaum wrote. “That is a choice … the establishment clause does not force students to make.”