c. 2008 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland is in an uproar because midshipmen are praying before lunch at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Heaven forbid!

The next thing you know, the midshipmen will be reading the Declaration of Independence and thinking about how “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” entitle us all to liberty.

Midshipmen hear _ but are not required to participate in _ grace before the noon meal. The ACLU’s legal director, Deborah E. Jeon, calls the tradition “compulsory religious services mandated by the government.”

Never mind that the prayers following announcements are non-denominational, and directed at what sailors and Marines sometimes call the Standard Issue Navy God.

Never mind that the Academy’s eight chaplains rotate the duty among themselves.

Never mind that no midshipman is required to do anything but stand respectfully. They’ve been doing it since 1845.

There are 4,300 midshipmen at Annapolis. The ACLU says nine of them felt “uncomfortable” during the brief noon prayers. Do these nine feel “uncomfortable” cashing their government paychecks for currency that says “In God We Trust”? Are they “uncomfortable” reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, especially the “one nation, under God” part? Do they even know that God is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence?

You would think folks motivated enough to get an appointment to Annapolis would understand _ or at least can learn _ that U.S. naval officers are respectful of custom. A few whiners want to eliminate a 163-year-old tradition. Why are they at Annapolis?

Five years ago, the Virginia Military Institute had to give up its “supper prayers” following a complicated lawsuit (supported by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee) that was argued by the Virginia ACLU. Now the Maryland prayer police say the VMI decision applies to the Naval Academy.

The VMI court decision, however, does not consider “whether or to what extent the military may incorporate religious practices into its ceremonies,” noting the Virginia Legislature _ not the Department of Defense _ oversees VMI. That means the VMI case, which was never reviewed by the Supreme Court, does not apply to Annapolis.

Even so, the ACLU gleefully believes it has discovered another corner of the country where it might rip religion from its roots. By attempting to force its corporate personal opinion on the Naval Academy, the ACLU ignores our recognition of “Nature’s God” in 1776, and makes mockery of the First Amendment.

Non-denominational invocations are part of the fabric of military life. Whether during ceremonies or at lunch, they do not support any “establishment of religion.” Separately and distinctly, Navy chaplains provide for constitutionally protected denominational needs. The Academy chapel’s Web site lists Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim services, a Buddhist study group and a Mormon student association. Chapel attendance is voluntary; understanding the Declaration of Independence, and defending the Constitution, is not.

The Naval Academy isn’t budging, but what’s next? Will the ACLU go after the Declaration of Independence?

In this season of picnics and fireworks, let’s remember how the Declaration of Independence closes, after an appeal to the “Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions”:

“With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

(Phyllis Zagano is senior research associate-in-residence at Hofstra University and author of several books in Catholic Studies.)

KRE/PH END ZAGANO650 words

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