The main reasons the Weisman family filed the case was because they believed the prayers were a violation of the Establishment Clause, that there was an issue of religious confrontation and an issue of offence.
“It wasn’t an issue of being offended, it was an issue of being accosted by a very polemic kind of prayer that was an assault on my identity as a Jew... I felt that the prayer in 1896 that prompted all this was out of line with the prevalent practices of this country. So it wasn’t a question of being offended. 'Offended' trivializes what the issue was about. It was really a question of having been accosted by a state-sponsored event... [I] would have responded if a Jewish prayer had been given that was as offensive to somebody else." (Supreme Court Stakeout). Upon inquiry to the elaboration of the "assault on his identity as a Jew," Daniel explained, “I am raised as a Jew, and part of my identity as a Jew is that I do not participate -- it is prohibited to participate -- in the ritual of another religion. And I was forced to participate in the ritual of another religion. I was forced, there was no way out.” (Supreme Court Stakeout). The concept of assault might seem inconsistent with the presence of a rabbi at Deborah's graduation, however it is important to remember that Daniel originally filed the case on the basis of the Baptist prayers at his older daughter, Merith's graduation in 1986, while his motive was strengthened by the events of 1989.
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While Daniel was against the events of the ceremonies for religious confrontation purposes, his two daughters made it clear that insult was their motivation.
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“I was very offended because it was a Baptist and he told us to thank Jesus for us getting our accomplishments and my father said, I was angry because I was under the impression that religion cannot be practised in a public school, prayers cannot be practised in a public school. It sounded like a prayer to me. I was told to rise and thank Jesus. That offends me. The school is not made up people, for the most part, that believe in Jesus. There are a lot of Buddhists, a lot of monks, but that’s not the point, the point is that it was totally out of line, it did not belong there. There’s plenty of time, you’re only in school 6 hours a day, it just doesn’t belong in school." (Supreme Court Stakeout). |