The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to permit a high school football coach to pray on the field after games is expected to reopen a vigorous and probably tense debate among parents, educators and others over how far religion can enter public school grounds, California education and legal experts said Monday.saying it allowed for the personal religious expression of the coach and those who voluntarily followed him, a reasonable accommodation to religious and free speech rights.
Monday’s decision came in the case of Joe Kennedy, an assistant coach at Bremerton High School in Washington state. Kennedy began kneeling by himself on the 50-yard line after games to pray, though the sessions soon became highly publicized and drew crowds of players and spectators to the field.The conservative majority said football coach Joe Kennedy’s prayers on the field were protected as free speech, and not an official promotion of religion.
Other parents wondered how receptive the high court would have been to the freedom arguments if the coach in question had been a Muslim, who placed a prayer rug at midfield and bowed in prayers to Allah.if it were another religion besides Christianity,” said Tracy Abbott Cook, one of the parents in the discussion group. “And why does this coach have to bring religion into this moment in public? Maybe people want a break from religion and politics when they go to a sporting event. . . .
Football coaches at three high L.A. Unified schools said they were aware of rules requiring separation of religion and school functions, though they said players would sometimes informally lead prayers, sometimes in small groups. Ken Williams, an Orange County Board of Education trustee, applauded the court for its ruling, saying that the celebration of religious diversity and expressions of faith are central to the American identity.
“I hope people aren’t threatened by prayer. They shouldn’t be,” said Fogg, who is Mormon. “Prayer should not be something that brings animosity, otherwise it’s a false prayer. We certainly do not want anyone to feel excluded. It should be something that brings people together.”
Does the opposing coach have an equally protected right to simultaneously occupy the same publicly owned space to thank an alternative spiritual being for allowing his team to prevail in the game? If conflict then ensues, who gets arrested for creating a public disturbance?
Education Education Latest News, Education Education Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: mercnews - 🏆 88. / 68 Read more »