>>What's the chaplain doing in a baseball team? Praying for a score? Doubling as a psycho-ops engineer to boost the morale? Doing pep-speeches? Having an obstacle if they ever hire a non-Christian player?
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>>Are the Nationals an equal opportunity employer? If they ever hire a non-Christian player, would they have to hire another chaplain of that player's faith? What if the new guy was not religious, would they hire a - what, a secular non-chaplain with a specific duty to do nothing as a non-chaplain, only to double on the other side jobs?
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>This is a free country. If you don't want to participate you don't have to and no one can make you. Don't believe in prayer? Then don't pray. It's all up to you. Don;t want to resite the pledge of allegiance? You don't have to.
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>Isn't that simple and beautiful?:)

It's complex and ugly.

Work for a company which hired a priest who believes in the Greek gods. Have him pray to Athena for wisdom before every company-wide meeting. Don't want to...........fine, don't. You may say it wouldn't bother you, and I might even believe you. But I think many who feel about religion as you do (or close to it) would have a s%$t fit.

You want to include the words "Under God" when you recite the Pledge of Allegience. Fine. It's a free country. Insert the words whenever you feel like. But DON'T include them in an "offical" pledge to be recited by those who don't believe as you do.

A couple of years ago I attended a high school graduation in the middle of Nebraska. The ceremony began with an invocation (I object, but only mildly) which the minister ended with "We ask this in Christ's name." (I strenuously object). The validictory speech included a significant part which explained how the personal relationship with Jesus had helped mold the young man's life. He ended with a prayer. No problem for me. I've never been close to giving a validictory, but it seems to me that this kind of self-affirmation is relevant, although it might make me a little uncomfortable.

Now imagine that the validictorian came from one of the five Jewish families in the school district. Imagine also that his speech explained how the traditional Jewish veneration of learning had molded his desire to expand his intellectual horizons. Add that his study of Talmud had taught him reasoning skills that he was able to apply to his secular studies. Finally, imagine that he ended with a prayer, recited in Hebrew, which translates as "Blessed art Thou, o Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this happy occasion." Pretty innocuous, don't you think.

There are many would have no problem with such a speech. I'm pretty sure I can include you in that group. There are several others in this site I would also include. But I think the general reaction would be one of great anger.

Imagine if you were the minority (one of five Christian families in the district). Imagine that every public event started with the "Shema" (a deeply religous Jewish prayer). A former candidate for Governor of Iowa (a very conservative Republican) was asked a similar question at a meeting in a synagogue in Des Moines. He believed in prayer in school which reflected the majority beliefs of the members of the school district. When asked what he would do if a large number of Buddists settled in his school district and instituted chanting each morning, his imagination was not up to the task. "It could never happen."

I have enough lack of faith in the reasonableness of the vast majority of religious folks across this country to believe that the majority reaction would be deep anger at being subjected to this infringement of their rights. Of course, they could simply move to a differnt district where they were the majority.

But that begs the question, doesn't it? The option to move isn't there for everybody and Balkanization of our cities so that every group can be the majority somewhere is counter-productive.

My personal feeling is that private prayer is appropriate at any time. Public prayer is appropriate at gatherings where that is the intention (church or events sponsored by religious groups). When my children were young, they were members of Indian Guides, a wonderful program sponsored by the YMCA. All meetings began with prayers "in Jesus name." No problem for me. After all, it's the YMCA.

So, Sam, your answer is neither simple, nor beautiful.