To the extent that we have a future to speak of, historians in that upcoming era will undoubtedly look back at the past few weeks of Supreme Court rulings and rightfully deem this stretch as the most significant lurch toward overt American theocracy in the modern era. While much of the public’s attention has (rightly) been laser focused on the revocation of the federal right to reproductive health care, this court — one whose conservative majority was installed almost entirely by presidents who lost the popular vote — has gone well beyond simply denying the personhood of pregnant people. As evidenced by looking at this terms’ rulings en masse, it’s clear this panel is committed to the longstanding right-wing enterprise of Christian minority rule in this country.
Consider, for instance, Monday’s ruling in favor of a football coach at a public high school, who was fired for holding prayer sessions during games — ones which, while not officially mandatory for students, were nevertheless understood by some players to be a de facto requirement. As the Court’s ultra-conservative majority claimed, this pressure by a public high school employee for students to engage in Christian prayer is a constitutionally protected right via the First Amendment.
