Christian Schools Banned from Praying at Championship Game

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Jan 27, 2016

Christian Schools Banned from Praying at Championship Game

A Christian high school in Florida is fighting a mandate that prohibits their football team from praying before games.

Fox News’ Todd Starnes explains that Cambridge Christian School’s football team was facing University Christian School’s team in a 2A state championship game last December. The schools asked the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) if they could begin the game with a prayer.

The FHSAA denied their request, stating that a pre-game prayer was against the law because, though both schools were Christian, they would be playing on government property.

Liberty Institute, a law firm that specializes in defending religious liberty, is representing Cambridge Christian School. 

“This is ridiculous,” said Jeremy Dys, an attorney with Liberty Institute. “We’ve got two Christian schools being told they can’t pray.” 

Dys added that this case shows separation of church and state being taken too far.

“We have the state trying to impose strictures upon the church,” he told Starnes. “I think we’ve gone a long way away from who we are as a country when the state starts telling Christian schools they can no longer pray in public.”

Liberty Institute has sent a letter to the FHSAA on behalf of Cambridge Christian School, demanding a written apology for their “gross violation” of the law in not allowing the schools to pray.

The FHSAA has not yet responded to the letter.

Players on the football team spoke out about the importance of their faith.

“Prayer is something we’ve been taught to do and to do no matter what – even in public,” 17-year-old kicker Jacob Enns told Starnes.

Despite the FHSAA’s mandate, the teams gathered on the field to recite “The Lord’s Prayer” before the game. 

Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

Publication date: January 27, 2016



Christian Schools Banned from Praying at Championship Game