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USA: Supreme Court rules against separation of church and state

2022-06-28T14:38:26.385Z


USA: Supreme Court rules against separation of church and state Created: 06/28/2022Updated: 06/28/2022, 16:27 By: Johanna Soll The seat of the Supreme Court in the US capital, Washington DC © Kevin Dietsch/AFP A football coach prays aloud with players on the field - the Supreme Court says it's legal, breaking with long-standing case law. Washington, DC – A new Supreme Court ruling has sparked


USA: Supreme Court rules against separation of church and state

Created: 06/28/2022Updated: 06/28/2022, 16:27

By: Johanna Soll

The seat of the Supreme Court in the US capital, Washington DC © Kevin Dietsch/AFP

A football coach prays aloud with players on the field - the Supreme Court says it's legal, breaking with long-standing case law.

Washington, DC – A new Supreme Court ruling has sparked outrage in the United States.

The Supreme Court's decision on Monday (June 27) was "another example" of the "conservative majority of the court continuing its politicized agenda," said the leader of one of the country's largest teachers' unions.

The verdict overturns decades of case law that prohibits teachers from encouraging students to engage in religious activities.

In the case of

Kennedy v.

Bremerton School District

follows Joseph Kennedy, a former American football coach at a Washington state public high school.

He regularly led players to prayer at the 50-yard line on the football field.

The school management asked the coach to refrain from praying on the field.

In the final instance, the Supreme Court has now agreed with Joe Kennedy.

The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the coach by a vote of six to three judges.

The verdict was written by judge Neil Gorsuch, a right-wing hardliner appointed by ex-US President Donald Trump.

According to Gorsuch, coach Joseph Kennedy's prayers were protected under the First Amendment and the school district acted unlawfully by suspending the coach when he refused to stop the prayers.

Criticism of the judgment of the Supreme Court - also from other lawyers

There is criticism of this judgment from various sides - above all from the constitutional judges, who would have decided differently.

In the case of Supreme Court decisions, it is common for a minority to formulate a dissenting opinion in addition to the verdict, which is based on a majority decision and is written by a judge.

In this case, the liberal judge Sonia Sotomayor took over.

She and her colleagues Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer noted that "the court is now taking a different tack" after decades of affirming that "school officials who encourage prayer are unconstitutional."

This ruling does injustice to the schools and the young citizens they serve, as well as our nation's longstanding attachment to the separation of church and state,” Sonia Sotomayor wrote.

Supreme Court verdict based on false facts

The current ruling comes after the Supreme Court ruled in

Santa Fe Independent School District v.

Department of Education

has reconfirmed that praying in schools violates the separation of church and state.

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The

Kennedy v.

Bremerton School District

attacked by experts.

Law professor and CNN commentator Stephen Vladeck criticized on Twitter that the Supreme Court's majority decision was based on false facts.

The football coach's lawyers allege that he prayed silently, although a photo shows him praying with players.

The appeals court judges last year found that Joseph Kennedy's legal team had invented "a deceptive narrative" about the case.

According to the appeals court, “The coach prayed aloud in the middle of the football field, surrounded by players, members of the opposing team, parents, a local politician, and members of the media with television cameras that were recording the event, all discussing Kennedy’s planned actions local news and social media had been informed.”

But that did not stop the six right-wing judges from their verdict, they found, contrary to the proven facts, that Joseph Kennedy "spoke his prayers quietly while his students were otherwise busy".

The verdict states that Kennedy only said a short prayer silently to himself.

Judge Sotomayor responded in the minority that Kennedy's public prayers and position as a leader and role model meant his students felt compelled to participate, regardless of their religion and whether they wanted to or not.

Civil rights and Jewish organizations have also criticized the verdict

Various organizations in the United States also spoke out against the verdict, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a major civil rights organization, and the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW).

A statement from the ACLU said the Supreme Court "tramples the religious freedom of students who may not share the religious beliefs of their coaches and teachers."

Taylor Darling, one of the ACLU's general counsels, said the school district where the case took place was "a religiously diverse community and students reported feeling compelled to pray.

One player said he took part against his own beliefs for fear if he declined not to be seeded.

This decision undermines the separation of church and state – a fundamental principle of our democracy – and potentially harms our youth.”

"As Jews in America, we know well that separation of religion and state is essential to our ability to live and thrive," said Jody Rabhan, the NCJW's senior policy officer.

“No student should have to choose between freedom of religion and participation in school activities.

But today's ruling could force children attending public schools to do just that," Rabhan said.

"The Supreme Court is tearing down the wall between religion and state, and the impact on people is severe - especially children who practice a minority religion or no religion."

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-06-28

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