School Prayer: A Community at War

Lisa Herdahl is the most unlikely of First Amendment crusaders: a working class mother of six, raised in a religious family herself, transplanted with her husband and family to the small town of Pontotoc, Mississippi, deep in the heart of the Bible Belt. One gets an inkling of Lisa's strong convictions early on in this complex and compelling video--her deeply felt beliefs that 1) religion and prayer are personal matters which belong at home, and, 2) that religious and cultural diversity should be respected at all costs. With these personal principles at heart, Lisa protests and, with backing from the ACLU, finally brings to the courts the 15-year-old practice of broadcasting morning prayers over the intercom of the local high school--a move that puts her squarely in the center of a protracted and often feverishly pitched battle with the community. School Prayer effectively contrasts Lisa's determined crusade for religious freedom with the prevailing community notion of religious freedom (the right to inject fundamentalist Christian religious practice and morality into all aspects of public life, apparently). In giving a voice to both Lisa and the citizens of Pontotoc, the film successfully maintains a fairly even treatment (although it's difficult to maintain objectivity about a community that attempted to enforce its will with slur, harassment, and threatened violence). In the end, Lisa wins her case in the courts, but loses her job and remains a pariah among the good folk of Pontotoc. One can't help but meditate on the frequently steep costs of personal liberty and ponder the short and long-term impact of this emotional game of First Amendment brinkmanship. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (G. Handman)