UGA Students Challenge Prayers at Graduation

Several students posted on noted atheist Richard Dawkins' Foundation for Reason and Science website this week about their efforts to challenge UGA's traditional prayer at commencement ceremonies.

"UGA holds official commencements three times per year: one in the fall, one in the spring, and one in the summer," the students write in the post. "Since the university’s creation, each of these ceremonies have been opened with a prayer and many have closed with a benediction. The prayers are very clearly Christian in nature, littered with references to 'God' and 'Almighty Father', as well as concluding with 'Amen'."

The post, written in the first person but credited to Nick Stancato, Lisa Lansing, Ryan Howington, Danny Pitt and Sephen Joiner, cites legal precedents against organized religious observances in government settings and recounts an effort to persuade UGA administrators to stop the practice.

"Despite decades of legal precedent, UGA’s administration was simply unwilling to change their policies, citing the 'non-sectarian' and 'voluntary' nature of the prayers, two completely irrational and fallacious excuses," the students write. "The message to myself and other graduates-to-be was clearly laid out: if you don’t like praying, don’t go to your graduation."

What do you think of UGA's tradition of prayer at commencement and the argument that government should not impose religion on nonbelievers? Tell us in the comments.