This evening, I got a phone call from my cousin, who used to work at the Heritage Foundation. Needless to say, we often disagree about politics, and we all know how much I enjoy a good debate. The following is a condensed account of our conversation.

“The first amendment says that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” said my cousin. “There’s nothing in it about this wall of separation between church and state.”
“It absolutely implies a wall of separation between church and state!” I protested.
“Take school prayer, for instance…”
“Aha! Perfect, perfect example!” I cried. (‘Aha’ is a word I often use when I smell blood in the water.)
“What’s wrong with students leading a non-denominational prayer in schools?”
“It’s coercive! You should read the Supreme Court’s decision in that Arizona case.”
“How is it coercive if it’s voluntary?”
“Have you ever heard the saying, ‘as long as there are tests, there will be prayer in schools?'”
“Ha ha, yeah, I have.”
“Well, it’s true. People are going to pray when and where they want to. That’s free exercise. And really, there is not a force on earth that can stop you from doing it. The question is about a public prayer, where school time is devoted to it.”
“Have you heard the prayer they were going to use? It’s totally non-denominational.”
“Doesn’t matter. Think about it—whom is school prayer actually meant for? The faithful are going to profess their faith anyway, right?”
“Yeah…”
“The school can’t stop you from praying on your own time. We already know that people who really believe are going to pray anyway. So who’s it really for?”
“What’s wrong with a moment of silence or something like that?”
“Why are they having a moment of silence?”
“So that if you wanted to pray…”
“If you want to pray, you’re already doing it on your own, without the government telling you when and where to do it. So why have school prayer?”
“OK, I see your point.”

School prayer is solely designed to coerce people who wouldn’t otherwise pray to do so. If you were already praying, you’re doing it on your own time. The only people it could possibly be aimed at are students who don’t want to pray.

Then I told him about how when I was a freshman in high school, there was a proposal being floated by Newt Gingrich and his ilk to put prayer back in the schools. My plan was that if such a law were ever passed, I would have immediately asked for permission to slaughter a goat as part of a sacred ritual. Christians love school prayer, unless the other guys get a hold of it.