Public School Prayer case: Supreme Court rules in favor of former coach

The US Supreme Court rules for the former coach, Joseph Kennedy in the public school prayer case. Kennedy argued that the School district violated his religious freedom.

What is the Public School Prayer case?

On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the former Washington state football coach had the right to pray on the field instantly after the games. Former football coach Joseph Kennedy stated that the Bremerton School District in Washington violated his religious freedom. The school told him not to pray on the field after the game.

It was a 6-3 ruling victory. According to the school district, it was trying to avoid appearances of the school endorsing a religious view.

“Both the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment protect expressions like Mr. Kennedy’s. Nor does a proper understanding of the Amendment’s Establishment Clause require the government to single out private religious speech for special disfavor,” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch.

“The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance. Not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike,” he added in the majority opinion.

More on the case and recent trend:

In recent years, a more conservative Supreme Court is viewing government actions it once regarded as neutral and necessary for maintaining detachment of church and the state as hostile to religious expression. One of the striking issues in the case was if the coach’s decision to pray on the 50-yard line, a prominent place amounted to a private moment or a public demonstration of this faith. Kennedy urged he was acting on his behalf, expressing his views, and not as the representative of the school. However, the school district stated that students on the football team look up to their coach. Hence, feeling coerced into following his actions.

“Today’s decision is particularly misguided because it elevates the religious rights of a school official. Who voluntarily accepted public employment and the limits that public employment entails, over those of his students, who are required to attend school. And who this Court has long recognized are particularly vulnerable and deserving of protection,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The dissent is joined by Sotomayor and two other liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer. “In doing so, the Court sets us further down a perilous path in forcing States to entangle themselves with religion, with all of our rights hanging in the balance,” they added.

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