<p>We attended Son’s Baccalaureate service yesterday. It just seemed so silly…although the student body is quite diverse, only the Caucasian Christians attended…but yet, since it’s supposed to be for the whole class, a very very watered down Christianity was served…but it might as well have been very Christian because none of the Muslims, Hindus or Budhists attended.</p>
<p>The service is paid for and planned by parents and students…but it is included in the list of senior activites and advertised on the school web site. An official but not official function.</p>
<p>Has anyone ever planned or attended a truly non-denominational Baccalaureate service? Is it even possible? I guess it would turn into an “inspirational” service, with speeches rather than sermons. Since I think Baccalaureate started as a Church of England thing, is there even a tradition of Muslim or Hindu baccalaureate? I’m wondering if some student Christian organization such as Students Standing Strong should just sponsor it, so everyone acknowledges that it is a Christian event, and then if the local mosque wants to have something for graduates, they can, too.</p>
<p>Or is the whole thing just totally inappropriate in the public school context?</p>
<p>There used to be a nice interfaith Baccalaureate at a high school in Greenbelt Maryland organized by an Interfaith council. I believe it included readings from the major world religions and various Christian denominations and because it was not organized by the school, it was legal. I never attended, but did see some newspaper articles about it some years back.</p>
<p>Our high school has an interfaith Bacc, it was boring and not well attended. I just went to the Bacc in connection with a Catholic high school. Very well attended and very well done.</p>
<p>My S’s “Baccalaureate” was not religious at all. It consisted of a main speaker chosen by the seniors (a popular teacher) and 8-10 students giving short speeches.</p>
<p>Right. That’s why I’m thinking maybe there could/should be multiple services. The school website could list them: “The following congregations invite you to their bacc. services…X Baptist Church, Y Temple, Z Mosque…”</p>
<p>Of course, lots of the local churches (not ours however) make a huge deal of their own senior services - the students were their grad gowns, they have a slide show, etc. If you went to one of those churches, your own service would be a lot more meaningful than an interfaith one.</p>
<p>That’s why I put the name in quotes because it wasn’t a real baccalaureate, they just continue to call it that. It was held in the high school auditorium. Some of the other local public high schools had theirs in churches. I can only assume that those may have been more religious. There was a farewell speech by the main speaker and the student speakers were inspirational but just not religious.</p>
<p>The speeches at graduation are usually inspirational. If students what something religious added to that experience, then they are free to go to the place of worship of their choice. I see no reason for the school to schedule something that, by its nature, is likely to exclude someone.</p>
<p>A Jewish friend recently told me how uncomfortable she was at her D’s baccalaureate service. Public H.S. with an almost non-existent Jewish population. The service was held in a Baptist church in an Atlanta suburb. When in the south, both when I lived there and when I visit my family, there seems to be more mixing of religious and public functions than I see up north.</p>
<p>We went to one (as my d. was playing the piano for it), and we thought it wholly inappropriate and insulting. The speakers kept talking about having a “personal relationship”, but avoided saying with whom. </p>
<p>A local private school with a sizable Jewish (and also Hindu) population holds their baccalaureate service at our Presbyterian church. I saw the program for their service… the songs and readings refered to “God” rather than “Jesus” but it is still held in our church…with lots of New Testament stories in the stained glass and a big cross up front. Or if you grow up Jewish here, do you go to so many weddings and funerals at Christian churches that it doesn’t phase you?</p>
<p>That’s why it’s just silly…of course it’s “a personal relationship with Jesus.” If you can’t mention with whom, it does just become humorous. Can it really be fill in the blank? I don’t even know. Are Hindus encouraged to have a personal relationship with any of the gods?</p>
<p>“The speeches at graduation are usually inspirational. If students what something religious added to that experience, then they are free to go to the place of worship of their choice. I see no reason for the school to schedule something that, by its nature, is likely to exclude someone.”
Hear, hear! I couldn’t agree more!</p>
<p>Booklady, I was going to say the same thing. I assumed at the start of the thread that the discussion was about a college baccalaureate service. I’ve never heard of this in the northeast.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s just a Bible Belt thing, because I remember attending mine in Illinois. But it may be prevalent only in areas that were in the past homogenous from a religious standpoint. My public HS was probably 59.99% Roman Catholic, 39.99% Protestant, with a couple of Greek Orthodox and Jewish families. I don’t think we were required to attend, but it was held in the school auditorium.</p>
<p>Never heard of one, either. Atheists are not accomodated by ANY service with religious tones- that needs to be done privately, not under the auspices of any religion (any “nondenominational” or other title is still offensive) to be in the public schools. What people think is generic and not religious has connotations they miss if there is any reference to any powers, et al. They dropped the benediction of my generation, thankfully- it really steps on toes. Save that for your weekend social clubs, folks. My attitude may be why such services are poorly attended.</p>
<p>We are not in the Bible belt-Central Coast of CA. Our HS has one but neither of my kids has ever attended. I don’t feel it fits with the public school system and it tends to be the Christian families who exclude anyone who isn’t of their faith. Enough said on that.</p>