Religious freedom is a key part of this country. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) just reinforced that with a very important decision.
The case in question is Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District, in which football coach Joseph Kennedy lost his job by praying at the 50-yard line during a game.
The school district objected to his behavior and let him go as a coach, saying religion had no place on the field of a public school football game.
However, SCOTUS has now ruled and said Kennedy absolutely has that right and we all have it.
Landmark 6-3 Decision
Splitting along conservative lines once again as they recently did in overturning Roe v. Wade, SCOTUS ruled 6-3 that religious freedom grants Kennedy the right to publicly exercise his faith.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, in particular, celebrated the decision, writing in his opinion this ruling protects the First Amendment’s Free Exercise and Freedom of Expression clause.
This safeguards any and all individuals who practice their religion from government retaliation.
According to the Constitution, there is nothing that can oppress a citizen from the free expression of his or her religiosity.
Another part of this decision makes it clear that respect for religious expressions is essential and can’t be abridged by anyone.
This is a big step forward for religious liberty and Christians, who have been steadily pushed out of the public sphere since the 1960s when anti-religious, secular forces gained more and more ground in American society.
SCOTUS sides with a high school football coach in a First Amendment case about prayer at the 50-yard-line. In a 6-3 ruling, SCOTUS says the public school district violated the coach's free speech and free exercise rights when it barred him from praying on the field after games.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2022
This is a Key Decision
This is a key decision that protects all Americans. After all, Kennedy is not a criminal and poses no danger to society.
Even if Kennedy was extreme, which he is not, we all have the right as American citizens to state our political beliefs in discourse.
That’s whether they are liberal, communist, conservative, or even Nazi; even the defamation of public figures enjoys the highest degree of protection by American law.
Also protected by the law are expressions such as the burning of the country’s flag, protests against the government, and more.
Although all this protection is due today to the same First Amendment that was passed in 1791, it was only in the 20th century, especially between the 1920s and 1970s, that SCOTUS began to broaden the scope of constitutional protection of freedom of expression.
Judge Holmes, a key judge in American legal realism, wrote one of the most moving defenses of freedom of expression remembered to this day.
In the first vote in which he acquitted a felon who claimed to be protected by the First Amendment, Holmes said the best way for all those who desire freedom is granted through free trade of ideas.
A passage from his book, Freedom of Speech in the United States, says Congress cannot create a law that limits freedom of expression.
NEW: The Supreme Court just ruled 6-3 that public school teachers and other staff can now lead students in prayer, significantly undermining the separation of church and state and overturning decades of established precedence.
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) June 27, 2022
The Bottom Line
Coach Kennedy was just another intended victim of the extremist left-wing movement that tries to silence and oppress good citizens from exercising their rights. Though this time, the government took a big L.
Better luck next time, guys.
