ACLU threatens lawsuit over prayer at Naval Academy

WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening to sue the U.S. Naval Academy unless it abolishes its daily lunchtime prayer, saying that some midshipmen have complained that they felt coerced to participate.

In a letter to the academy on behalf of a group of midshipmen who object to the prayers, Deborah Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland, said it was “long past time” for the academy to discontinue the tradition. She said the practice violates midshipmen’s’ freedom to practice religion as their conscience leads them

“The government should not be in the business of compelling religious observance, particularly in military academies, where students can feel coerced by senior students and officials and risk the loss of leadership opportunities for following their conscience,” her letter said.

She cited a case in Virginia in 2003, when an appeals court ruled that Virginia Military Institute’s mealtime prayers were unconstitutional because they violated the First Amendment.

In a statement, the Naval academy rejected the request.

“The academy does not intend to change its practice of offering midshipmen an opportunity for prayer or devotional thought during noon meal announcements.” It said some form of prayer has been offered for midshipmen at meals since the Naval Academy ‘s founding in 1845 and that it is “consistent with other practices throughout the Navy.”

In an interview today, a recent graduate of the academy, an agnostic who objected to the prayer, said she felt pressured to take part in it.

“Everybody else is participating with their heads bowed and their arms crossed,” she said. “It became very obvious that you aren’t participating.”

She said she went along with the practice at first because she didn’t want to stand out. But she stopped in her third year and, instead of bowing her head and crossing her arms, instead stood in parade rest.

“I’m hoping that the noon meal prayer tradition is abolished,” she said. She asked not to be identified because she feared it might affect her naval career. The prayer, she said “is unconstitutional.”