Thank God for children, youth and adults who not only attend SYATP, but who also know it’s not the pray-er, but its the God of the prayer that makes a difference.  I pray the Lord will spark revival as a result of SYATP as well as students who pray for their school, nation and world every day after SYATP too.

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

I certainly am no fan of “religious nationalism” and agree, in general, with your that statement. However...

I attended multiple SYATP events when I was in jr. high and high school in the 90s and I can assure you that See You at the Pole events have nothing to do with religious nationalism, national idolatry or the like. To presume so is simply to misunderstand the project.

“The pole” simply represents a central, public location (common to most schools) where students have the opportunity to profess their beliefs. The SYATP FAQs confirmed my experience and understanding of it:

When organizers in Texas in 1990 first challenged young people to meet on a common day to launch their school year in prayer, one of the concerns was how to help those who wanted to pray together find each other. It was noted that virtually every school has a flagpole, and it provided an easy-to-identify place to gather.

It could have easily been titled, “See You at the Gym” or “See You at the Cafeteria.” (If I recall correctly, my jr. high didn’t even have a flag pole, so we just met in front of the school where the students arrived.)

Warnings against national idolatry do have their place and appear in ERLC.com articles as recent as this week. But I believe directing those warnings at SYATP is simply misguided.

(Matt is on staff at ERLC.)

SYATP’s full response can be found on this page. Click on the last FAQ: “Is SYATP biblical? Didn’t Jesus condemn public prayer?” Here are a couple highlights…

“Some have said of this passage, “Jesus is saying here that prayer should be a private matter between God and the one praying.” We would respectfully disagree that this is the concern of what Jesus is teaching in Matthew 6.

Jesus clearly seems to say that the MOTIVE of those He condemns in this passage is “that they may be seen of men.” One should be extremely cautious about judging that the motives of teenagers who pray at See You at the Pole™ is “for show,” even though it is in public.
...

It should be pointed out that any public prayer runs the risk of being for “show” or a “display of righteousness” that falls within the condemnation of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus Himself prayed in public. So did the Apostle Paul, and others. Any student of God’s word could cite specific references. A careful review of the Scripture would not lead one to the conclusion that public prayer in and of itself is unbiblical.

I believe you are sincere but you’re missing the powerful message that praying around a flagpole sends.

There is an intentional reason we’re organizing out kids to pray around a flagpole and not in the cafeteria.

The symbol we’re sending to the rest of the world is we Evangelical Christians are the true godly patriots and they are not.

Before you totally dismiss what I’m saying, I strongly encourage you to talk openly with your liberal/non-Christian/non-Evangelical friends. Ask them specifically, what kind of message praying around a flag sends. My guess is that you’ll think a little differently about this.

BTW—I too prayed in high school. We, however, did it quietly by our selves. But, that was before Evangelicals incorporated conservative politics so much into their theology.