Maury County School District receives backlash for prayer during graduation ceremony

SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Maury County School District is facing pushback for reciting a Christian prayer during a middle school graduation.

A Wisconsin-based nonprofit, Freedom From Religion Foundation , sent a letter to Battle Creek Middle School back in May, asking them to investigate the incident and avoid future public prayers.

The letter describes how the principal of Battle Creek Middle School recited a prayer during May’s graduation ceremony, referencing Jesus Christ and a ‘Heavenly Father.’ According to the letter, one student can be seen on a live-stream looking confused before “bowing their head in conformity.”

“I think in some ways, we are preserving religion and an individual’s choice to choose when to worship, when not to, and what their religion means to them,” said Hirsh Joshi, a lawyer for the foundation.

The foundation said this prayer was a violation of the first amendment and that the same principal did the same thing during a graduation ceremony in 2023. While the school has responded to both complaints, the foundation believes more transparency is needed.

“Last year, around this same time, my co-fellow did send a letter about the same principal, doing the same thing, at the same ceremony,” Joshi explained to News 2. “It would be nice to know what exactly was sent to that principal. It’s easy enough to just send generic letters, as the superintendent chose to do twice now.”

“On one hand, yes, we are satisfied that they are seemingly taking it seriously,” Joshi continued. “On the other hand, it would be nice to know what exactly was sent to the principal. I think it’s a little bit, it would be a little bit more prudent on their part and better for us and the public if they did disclose the contents of that letter so that we know what exactly is going on.”

Joshi said their foundation has sent letters regarding different public prayers. According to him, their efforts aren’t about one specific religion. Rather, they’re working to maintain a separation of church and state.

“The idea isn’t really so much about just the prayer, it’s about the captivate audience that’s there,” said Joshi.

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News 2 reached out to Maury County Public Schools for a response and received this statement:

“Maury County Public schools received the complaint and addressed it according to School Board Policy and applicable state laws.”

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