Team Prayer

The Washington Times on the issues surrounding team prayer at sporting events. Excerpt:

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes has groups at 8,000 junior high schools, high schools and colleges throughout the country, reaching 350,000 student-athletes, says Dan Britton, FCA's senior vice president of ministry programs. Eighty percent of the groups are in high schools.

Problems arise when an authority figure such as a coach, or the school itself, is involved. In a 2000 ruling that banned students from leading pregame prayers over loudspeakers, the Supreme Court said the Santa Fe, Texas, school district was giving the impression of sponsorship. Students were using school equipment and were under the direction of a faculty member.