how do i exempt myself from christian traditions at my graduation?
hey all !!!! i don’t use reddit a lot so this is basically a throwaway account. i’ve heard r/atheism is a bit more toxic of a subreddit and i figured someone might be able to help here, sorry if this isn’t what that is for.
i’m (f18) graduating tomorrow and my (public) school is having a prayer be said by the class president (?? she holds some sort of office i believe), and all guests are expected to pray and bow their heads, with men being forced to take off their caps. along with this, there will be a candle-lighting ceremony held to a song about jesus christ and our souls uniting in brotherhood. although i live in a very religious area in a southern state, i don’t follow christianity (or any religion) in any form anymore, and due to personal reasons, have grown very uncomfortable when forced into church-like activities. i know these things are illegal under rulings such as Engel v. Vitale, but i’m also aware they are traditional ceremonies and i don’t want to ruin them for the people that celebrate. is there a way i could exempt myself from these practices without causing much of a ruckus ?? i’m afraid to be a bother but i really don’t want to partake in christian practices and i’m unsure of how to go about that.
this is unrelated to the graduation ceremony, but i feel it important to mention anyway: my state has also enacted a law requiring a minute of silence designated for prayer as of this year. despite this also being illegal, no one has challenged it, so it’s remained and still practiced in my school and state. i felt this could give some background as to what kind of environment i would be proposing my exemption from prayer in.
if anyone has advice please let me know !! if this is the wrong place to ask, i will gladly move this post to whatever subreddit is better suited for this conversation. apologies if this is long but i’m just unsure as of what to do before the ceremony tomorrow. thanks in advance :)