My son was forced to pray at a school-sponsored event; sucks to be agnostic in a Christian culture

[primavera]

54. A toughie - that really tests the strength of one's convictions

If the school receives public monies, you're on solid legal ground for complaining about it. But someone such a visceral, emotional - as opposed to rational - commitment as this zealot appears to have cannot be relied upon to take criticism in stride and not retaliate against your son in some way. Do you know if other members of the chess team are similarly discomfited? I spent a few years at a Catholic school as a kid and the overwhelming majority of us resented the religious overtones of the place. Since it was a Catholic school, there wasn't much we could do about it, but almost all of us would have loved to be freed from the imposition. If there were other chess team members who also resented the whole prayer thing, perhaps you could contact their parents and get them to sign on to a joint protest letter. There's strength in numbers: if there were other parents complaining, the instructor would have a much harder time retaliating against multiple team members.