Prayer after a football match | Supreme Court upholds law in public schools

A new US Supreme Court ruling has upheld a public school football coach’s right to pray in the middle of the field with his players following a game.

Andre Duchesne
The Press

As in several other recent cases, the decision was made with a 6-3 majority thanks to the bloc of conservative judges, three of whom were appointed by former US President Donald Trump.

This court decision follows a complaint by a football coach, Joseph Kennedy, who once worked in a public school in Bremerton, a town near Seattle, Washington. A Christian and former Marine, Mr. Kennedy had taken to kneeling at the 50-yard line in the center of the field after the game was over and praying with his players.

However, the case grew more and more in the city and the state, and all the endgames became tense. After several warnings, the school decided in 2015 not to renew the coach’s contract. Administrators felt there was no place for prayer at the end of a public school game.

In court

Mr Kennedy took the case to court arguing that his employer’s decision violated the First Amendment to the US Constitution in favor of freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly peacefully.

He lost his case at first instance and in the Court of Appeal. But the Supreme Court agreed with him.

“The Constitution and the best of our traditions advise mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and repression, for both religious and non-religious views,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote on behalf of the majority.

According to the judges, Mr. Kennedy acted as a private citizen and not as an employee of an educational institution, so in this case his action was recognized by the First Amendment.

“A government entity wanted to punish an individual for a brief, quiet and personal religious practice […]the Constitution does not mandate or condone this kind of discrimination,” Justice Gorsuch continued.

In an interview with CNN, Kennedy said that in his view, “every American should be able to have faith in public and not fear being fired for it.” For him, it was fitting to thank God, win or lose.

The separation between church and state is losing ground

According to Justice Gorsuch, a school does not necessarily violate the principle of separation between church and state by condoning such a religious act.

But on the side of the three dissenting judges, we do not see things the same way.

According to them, the coach’s choice to hold a prayer risked putting undue pressure on the shoulders of young players who did not share his religious beliefs.

They also wonder about the possibility that the gesture is interpreted as a choice of the school, in this case, to favor Christianity to the detriment of other religions.

The argument of the dissenting judges is also based on… another part of the first amendment, namely the “establishment clause” which indicates that the United States Congress will not pass any law favoring the establishment of a religion. compared to another.

“This decision does a disservice to schools and the young citizens they serve and to our Nation’s long-term commitment to separate church and state,” said Judge Sonia Sotomayor on behalf of her colleagues.

In two other recent decisions, the Supreme Court ruled (6-3) that the state of Maine could not exclude denominational schools from public assistance and that Boston City Hall (9-0) must allow a Christian group to display its flag on the town hall. These decisions are interpreted as a loss of ground by the proponents of the strict separation between Church and State.

With CNN, NPR and Agence France-Presse