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Dear Friend,
You may have heard about a recent Supreme Court decision about prayer in schools. On the surface, you may even think that the decision was good, particularly for Muslims in America who often struggle to have the requirements of their faith accommodated in the classroom. Today, we want to go through this decision with you and explain why it’s so alarming and why it actually threatens religious freedom.
Two months ago in Kennedy v. Bremerton , the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a football coach at a public high school in Washington State. The court found that Coach Joseph A. Kennedy's practice of kneeling in prayer in the middle of a football field, often with students and parents joining him, was protected by the First Amendment's free speech and free exercise of religion clauses. In a 6-3 decision, the court said that Coach Kennedy's prayer, despite taking place during the course of his work, in front of his student players, and at midfield, did not constitute a public endorsement of Christianity.
This is an alarming decision, and we’ll explain why. Muslim Advocates unequivocally supports the rights of students and employees in public schools to pray according to their religious beliefs. Employees at public schools should not, however, be permitted to coerce—explicitly or implicitly—students to join their religious activities. That is exactly what Coach Kennedy did.
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The Supreme Court’s decision recognizes that most of the team’s players were praying with Coach Kennedy but fails to acknowledge the undue pressure imposed upon students when their coach prays on the field, in public, immediately following a game. Such pressure is inherent because coaches and teachers are in a position of authority over their students and we can expect, as was the case here, that students would feel compelled to join their coach or teacher’s prayer regardless of their personal beliefs.
Muslim Advocates is concerned that this decision undercuts a core principle in our nation and one that is critical to Muslims' freedom of religion: the separation of church and state. Without a separation between the church and state, religion might permeate every aspect of life, from the court to the classroom, to the benefit of members of the dominant religion and to the detriment of all others, including Muslims. But this decision will not slow down our advocacy on your behalf, and should not stop you from speaking up if you feel like you or your child’s rights to practice are being restricted, or if they feel compelled to participate in religious activities at their school.
We know that schools just reopened and that you may be wondering how this decision affects your children. That’s why our legal team created this Q&A [[link removed]] that walks you through everything you need to know about the Kennedy v. Bremerton School District decision.
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We encourage you to advocate against any unfair religious practices, such as your child being pressured into prayer against their religious beliefs or any acts of marginalization they might encounter because of their faith. One way to do so is to form coalitions with fellow minorities and allies to counter religious favoritism and secure religious liberty for all. We outline some of the advocacy steps you can take in our Q&A — such as organizing with your local mosque or reaching out to legislators.
Muslim Advocates will closely monitor lower courts’ interpretations of Kennedy v. Bremerton to ensure Muslims’ rights to religious accommodations and free practice are protected. Our monitoring will also extend beyond the courts to ensure that Muslims are not excluded from participating in public school sports, extracurricular activities or academic matters because of their religious beliefs.
Also, if you believe you have been denied the right to exercise your religious beliefs or discriminated against because of your beliefs, please contact us [[link removed]] . We are here to help you.
In solidarity,
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Reem Subei,
Senior Staff Attorney
Muslim Advocates
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Washington, DC 20043 United States
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