The Washington Post is reporting that the American Civil Liberties Union is threatening to sue the U.S. Naval Academy unless it abolishes its tradition of daily lunchtime prayer, arguing that such a practice is unconstitutional:

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 Institutes’s mealtime prayers were unconstitutional because they violated the First Amendment.

The Naval Academy is having none of it. They flatly rejected the ACLU’s 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.”

The Washington Post goes on to cite an interview with a former USNA student (and agnostic) who said she felt “pressured” to take part in prayers during meal times.

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

USA Today said the ACLU was representing nine students who had approached the ACLU because they opposed the practice. 

This article at BlueRidgeNow.com gives context and details the recent history of the controversy over the role of religion at U.S. military academies.

This development is the latest chapter in the ACLU’s quest to preserve what it believes is a strict separation between church and state as found in the U.S. Constitution. The most recent high-profile clash involving prayer in public places occurred in 2006, when the ACLU sued a Nashville school district for “illegal acts” including allowing students to participate in the “See You At The Pole” event, which takes place annually at junior high and high schools across the nation.

The student Christian prayer event involves students showing up early before school on a certain day in September and standing around the flag pole of the school to read Bible verses, sing worship songs, and pray for their school and fellow students. The ACLU asserted that since students and others read passages from the Bible, prayed, and made “references to Jesus Christ and Christian music,” the event was unconstitutional because it took place on public property. 

Bill Clinton’s administration had previously issued ”Religion in the Public School” guidelines which had specifically allowed the “See You At The Pole” event.

The ACLU also objected to parents’ group prayer meetings that took place on campus, National Day of Prayer observances, and the annual Christmas pageant.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee last month handed down a decision that allowed the contested activities at the school to continue, although it insisted the school district give all other religious groups the same access to use public facilities.