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School Prayer: A Community at War

Profile of a Mississippi mother of six who sues her school district to remove prayer and religious instruction from public schools.

Series

POV

Premiere Date

July 20, 1999

Length

60 minutes

Funding Type

Co-Production

Awards & Recognition

Winner

2001 News and Documentary Emmy Awards - Best Coverage of a Continuing News Story

The battle cry on both sides is religious freedom when a Mississippi mother protests mandatory prayer in her children's public school. While most of Pontotoc County rallies to preserve a cornerstone of their faith, Lisa Herdahl is a lone voice calling for the separation of church and state. Raising complex questions about tolerance and tradition, School Prayer chronicles a clash of principles in which the Constitutional right of an individual collides with the fundamental beliefs of the majority.