It is official. According to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which governs Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, it is against the law for students to lead the stadium crowd in prayer before a football game.

People often ask me why David and I send our children to a Catholic school. (Starting this fall they will ask me why I send two children to a Catholic and one to an Episcopal school, but that is another column.)

And the answer comes easily. It isn’t, as some may assume, a race issue or &uot;my children are better then yours&uot; issue. It is a question of values.

We like a school that is comfortable with praying and saying the Pledge of Allegiance. We want someone to pray with our children before a field trip, a sporting event or the just at the start of the day.

I know that many people say that the court has upheld the constitution and is only keeping church and state separate. I disagree.

I have no problem with people having different faiths and beliefs than me. It doesn’t bother me when my friend bows her head in prayer at lunch; it doesn’t bother when my Catholic friends make the sign of the cross; and I don’t mind when I sneeze and someone says &uot;God bless you.&uot;

I can understand in a public school setting, if the court says a principal cannot say a prayer over the loudspeaker. But is it fair to deny Christian students the right to be prayed for? And yes, I understand that the athletes themselves can bow their heads and have a moment of silent prayer before a game. But is it fair to deny a Christian athlete the right to pray out loud in his dressing room for help and protection during an event?

Actually, is it fair to deny a student of any religion the right to pray to their deity?

Suppose I am at a basketball or football game where a student holds a prayer before the game within my hearing? Suppose that student is of Jewish, Hindu, Shinto, Catholic or Taoism faith?

Should I scream and yell that the student is abusing my religious freedom by subjecting me to the prayer of a different faith? Or should I sue the school because there was a &uot;prayer&uot; being said on the school grounds?

What if as a Protestant I simply bow my head and in silent prayer ask God to watch over the athletes and protect them from harm. And just suppose I was an atheist, couldn’t I just turn a deaf ear to someone else’s beliefs?

With increasingly more violence in schools, we adults constantly preach to students about respecting each others diversity.

And yet when it comes to religion we set a different standard.

We tell them not to judge a person by skin color, hair color or length, number of tatoos, body piercings or sexual orientation.

But we tell them that they don’t have to tolerate someone praying on a school campus within their hearing.

As I watch my church’s youth group, composed of teenagers of different faiths, races and beliefs, I wonder if maybe we adults step in and &uot;protect&uot; them to much. Sometimes I wonder if they are better at overlooking each others differences than lawmakers.

I’m sure there are many readers who will disagree with me about this. Feel free to write, call or e-mail me with your opinion.You see, I respect your right to believe different than me. And I hope you feel the same way.

Christina Hall is the lifestyle editor at The Democrat. She can be reached at 445-3549 or by e-mail at christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com