Hi Talk about religion and universities without "debate?" Good luck! :) See:
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-90845928.html Anyway, there apparently are some issues in the American situation about separation of church and state. I looked for stuff on "invocation," since convocation is where prayer is normally expected and accepted in institutions, including universities. Seems that some universities are moving away from prayer even for convocations. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/07/AR2009040704634.html http://www.secularstudents.org/node/2610 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2228789/posts http://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/senate/hondegre.html You might start with what your practice is at Valdosta for convocation, and see if anything has been articulated. The general sense appears to be that there is more latitude in universities about prayer than in lower level schools, although whether there is anything coercive about participation seems to be a factor. See: http://pewforum.org/events/?EventID=141 It gets even trickier when cultures are involved, as in some Canadian (and perhaps American) universities with a high representation of Native Canadians (American Indians) and perhaps incorporating special programs to be inclusive and respectful of their culture. The province of Manitoba has a northern university where it appears to be the practice to begin Board of Governors meetings with a prayer led by an Elder. I did find some "policies" for universities, although some of them appear to finesse the problem by leaving it to the group holding the event, which I guess is tacit approval. http://appl003.ocs.lsu.edu/ups.nsf/4d8b193f0753c7e48625714000672ba4/5BBBC0FAF0E791BF86256C250062AE8B/$File/ps62Rev00.pdf http://www.acaffairs.ed.ac.uk/Committees/Senate/Meetings/200304/20031210/PaperA1-Prayers.pdf My gut feeling is that opening up more meetings and events to prayer will make it even more likely that some sort of protest will ensue, either from those not satisfied with the narrowness of the prayers (always subject to interpretation) or those opposed to any religous ceremony in university life. I guess another issue is how uncomfortable some people attending these events will feel? That at least should be an easily answered empirical question. Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca >>> Deborah S Briihl <dbri...@valdosta.edu> 22-Oct-09 5:41:59 PM >>> Hi - Sorry for the non teaching question, but I'm in a bind here. I'm not looking for any kind of debate here (please don't start one), but I serve on a committee at VSU that has been requested to develop a policy or recommendation on prayer on campus (yeah, yeah - I know some of you have a joke in mind). Anyway, the idea is to discuss the appropriateness of it at events that you might not expect it and may feel required to attend (such as Student Government or Honor's ceremony dinner). We are having difficulty finding one. If somebody at a public university has such a policy - could you send it to me backchannel (dbri...@valdosta.edu)? Thanks. ---------------------------------- Deb Dr. Deborah S. Briihl Dept. of Psychology and Counseling Valdosta State University 229-333-5994 dbri...@valdosta.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
