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The Rutherford Institute Protects Wisconsin High School Senior's Right to Sing Religious Song at Graduation Exercise

High School Senior Will Be Permitted to Exercise Rights to Free Speech and Expression

MILWAUKEE -- The Rutherford Institute has succeeded in protecting the right of a high school senior to sing a song containing the word "God" at her graduation exercises. School officials at Winneconne High School in Winnebago County, Wisc., had informed Rachel Honer that she would have to substitute the words "He," "Him" or "His" for the word "God" in a song she intended to perform at her graduation ceremony. Today, school officials acknowledged that Honer will be permitted to sing the uncensored version of "He's Always Been Faithful" at her commencement exercise, which is scheduled to take place on June 8.

Wanting to participate in her school's graduation exercises, Rachel Honer, a senior at Winneconne High School in Winnebago County, Wisc., had informed the school's principal, Jim Smasal, of her desire to sing at the ceremony. School officials had formed a committee, comprised of faculty members, to select students to speak or perform at the graduation exercises. The committee was instructed to select students on the basis of neutral, nonreligious criteria. Smasal informed Honer that if she were chosen by the committee, she could sing. Smasal did not place any restrictions on or provide any specific guidelines for the content of Honer's performance. After selecting Honer to sing at the graduation ceremony, the committee asked her to submit a copy of the song lyrics. After reviewing the lyrics to "He's Always Been Faithful" by the recording artist Sara Groves, Smasal informed Honer that she would not be permitted to perform the song, because the word "God" appears three times in the lyrics. Smasal and Robert Reinke, the school district's superintendent, voiced their concern that the song might be offensive to some and would violate the separation of church and state. Honer was informed that were she to substitute the words "He," "Him" or "His" for the word "God," she would be permitted to perform the song at the ceremony. However, Honer felt that singing an edited version of the song would compromise her faith, so she turned to The Rutherford Institute for help. Institute attorneys filed suit in U.S. District Court, arguing that the censorship of Honer's performance violates the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

"This is a great victory for free speech and freedom of religion," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "We are hopeful that school districts around the country will cease discriminating against religious students and ensure that they are treated equally and on the same basis as others."

The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.


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Nisha N. Mohammed
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Email: Nisha N. Mohammed

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