Jun 27, 2022 by Site, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
The U.S. Supreme Court today gutted decades of established law that protected students’ religious freedom, undermining our country’s foundational principle of church-state separation in the landmark Kennedy v. Bremerton School District case. The court ruled 6-3 against the Bremerton School District, which was trying to protect public high school students from a coach who violated their religious freedom by pressuring them to join his public prayers at the 50-yard line at public high school football games.
Rachel Laser, President and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which represents the school district, issued the following statement:
“Today, the court continued its assault on church-state separation, by falsely describing coercive prayer as ‘personal’ and stopping public schools from protecting their students’ religious freedom. It is no coincidence that the erosion of the line between church and state has come alongside devastating losses on so many of the rights we cherish. As that line has blurred, public education, reproductive rights, civil rights and more have come under attack.