WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday will hear the case of a former high school football coach who said he had a free-speech right to pray at the 50-yard line surrounded by players.
If the court’s conservative majority agrees, it could open the door for a return to organized prayers in public schools.
For decades, the court has held to the rule that public schools and their employees may not organize or promote group prayers, even if a student is holding the microphone. Those decisions are based on the 1st Amendment’s ban on “an establishment of religion” by the government.
But today’s conservative justices lean in favor of the 1st Amendment’s support for free speech and the “free exercise of religion,” and they question the notion of a strict separation between church and state.
That’s why the case of coach Joe Kennedy against the Bremerton, Washington, schools has taken on significance. Civil libertarians say a ruling for Kennedy could be the first step to returning some regular prayers to schools.
