USA: Irmo High Student Sues Over Prayer At Graduation

Matthew Neilson says that prayer during the ceremony violates his rights under the First Amendment.
Source/Credit: Irmo Seven Oaks Patch | By Tiffany Barkley

An 18-year-old Irmo High school graduate is suing Lexington-Richland 5 for allowing prayer during graduation.

Matthew Neilson says he suffered "unwanted exposure to a school-sanctioned invocation / benediction/ prayer / religious message / blessing" when a fellow classmate read a prayer before the graduates received their diplomas Wednesday, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Columbia.

Neilson told WIS that he didn't feel like he was a part of that portion of the graduation ceremony.

"I didn't remove my cap," Nielson said. "I looked toward the superintendent and let the time pass. I was obviously not a part of that part of the graduation ceremony. The district didn't feel like it needed to find time for me and my non-religious or non-Christian friends."

Neilson filed the lawsuit along with the Freedom from Religion Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Wisconsin that defends the separation between church and state and educates the public about non-theist views.

The plaintiffs claim that the prayer at graduation was a violation of Neilson's rights under the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, according to the law suit.

A district policy allows for a benediction or invocation at graduation if the majority of the senior class votes in favor of it, according to the lawsuit. The class of 2012 voted in favor of having a prayer.

Neilson met with Irmo High's principal, wrote a letter to the school board and met with the superintendent to request that the prayer not be delivered, according to the lawsuit. But his request was denied.

[Neilson told WIS, he hopes his lawsuit will stop prayer from being included in future graduations].

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