An appellate court ruled yesterday that the Virginia Military Institute's 50-year tradition of praying before dinner is unconstitutional, saying that the "coercive atmosphere" surrounding the event violates the First Amendment rights of cadets.
The 28-page decision by the Richmond-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upholds a ruling by U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon in Lynchburg, who in January called the ceremony a "state-sponsored religious exercise" in violation of the First Amendment separation of church and state. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit against the state-financed school in May on behalf of two cadets, Neil Mellen and Paul Knick.
A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit painted the issue in the context of an overall educational system at VMI that the court said emphasizes "obedience and conformity." "In this context," the court said, "VMI's cadets are plainly coerced into participating in a religious exercise."
State Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore (R), whose office defended VMI in the suit, said he would seek an immediate review by the entire 4th Circuit.
"I continue to believe that the non-denominational, nonsectarian grace before supper is of the sort that is appropriate in a military setting," Kilgore said in a statement. "These prayers were part of VMI's educational program and are precisely the sort of prayers recited in the United States military, on ships at sea each night, and before lunch at the United States Naval Academy."
The ACLU of Virginia hailed the ruling, saying it takes earlier U.S. Supreme Court decisions prohibiting state-sponsored prayer in elementary and secondary schools and applies the same logic to higher education. The 4th Circuit decision said the Supreme Court "has never directly addressed" whether the religion component of the First Amendment "forbids state-sponsored prayer at a public college or university."
"This decision is precedent-setting in the sense that the Supreme Court has not yet addressed this," said Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.
The ruling is the second time that one of VMI's hallowed traditions has been ruled unconstitutional. The college did not accept women until the Supreme Court mandated coeducation in 1996. VMI's first class of female cadets graduated last year.
The practical implications of the ruling remain unclear. It is a legal warning against state-sponsored prayer at public universities, but Willis acknowledged that it is rare for colleges to mandate or sponsor prayer anyway. "But the principle is good," he said. "We are in changing times, and it might be that universities sometimes in the future will contemplate adding prayer to other mandatory activities."
It was unclear whether the ruling could apply to other military institutions, such as the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. The 4th Circuit includes Maryland. Willis said the ACLU has no plan to challenge prayers there because it is "challenging VMI as a public university, not a military academy."
For nearly three generations, students at VMI, based in Lexington, have been required to stand at attention after marching together into the mess hall. Cadets must stand, hands at their sides, while a "cadet chaplain" -- a student picked by the chaplain's office -- recites a prayer that invokes God, without any mention of Jesus. There are different prayers for each day of the week except Saturday, when dinner is less formal, school officials said.
VMI students are not required to bow their heads or recite the prayer during the exercise, but several students have said in court papers that the prayer is heavy-handed.