Moment of Silence in Schools Favored by Burger if Religion Is Not Specified

WASHINGTON — Chief Justice Warren E. Burger said Friday he thinks students would benefit from a moment of silence in school as long as they are not required to think about religion.

Burger made the comment during a two-hour interview with 13 students chosen by Scholastic Inc., publisher of classroom magazines for secondary and elementary school students. The interview will be published as part of the magazine’s coverage of the 1987 bicentennial of the Constitution.

“A moment of silence is a right to thoughts,” Burger said when asked about the court’s school prayer decisions. “As long as there is no specification that it be a moment of prayer, I think it’s a good idea to have a moment of silence.”

Some students might use the time to think about the junior prom, while others might worry about an upcoming math test, Burger said.

Burger was among the dissenters last year when the court, on a 6-3 vote, struck down Alabama’s law calling for a moment of silence for voluntary prayer.