After court ruling, activists push prayer into schools

They say church and state are already too separate

Aurora Robertson, 12, in her bedroom in Yukon, Okla. Led to Christianity by a third-grade public-school teacher, she is the only one in her nuclear, atheist family to attend church. A Michigan superintendent is pondering whether coaches should lead students in pre-game prayer. A school board member in Florida wants her district to teach students about prayer and offer religious studies. In Hawaii, the leader of a faith- and family-focused activism group sees a path to altering state policy that says public-school employees cannot initiate prayer on campus.

A month has passed since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Washington state football coach who knelt at midfield to pray and was joined by student-athletes.

In response, families, teachers and activists are preparing to push religious worship into public schools nationwide — working to blur the line dividing prayer and pedagogy and promising emotional, spiritual and educational benefits for students.

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