Supreme Court accused of ‘inviting religion into classroom’ by saying football coach had right to pray

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Supreme Court has been accused of “inviting religion into the classroom” after it said a high school football coach had the right to pray on the touchline. “ David Neiwert, author of Red Pill, Blue Pill: How to Counteract the Conspiracy Theories That Are Killing Us, said: “I guess we’ve been too preoccupied with SCOTUS’s dismantling of women’s reproductive rights to notice that it also is dismantling the wall of separation between church and state.” Rachel Laser, the CEO of the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which had represented Bremerton School District in the case against Mr Kennedy, said: “The Supreme Court just invited coercive prayer into public schools by ruling that Bremerton School District – a public school system – cannot stop a coach from conducting public prayers with his team at team huddle.” She added: “ a huge blow to church-state separation.” Later at a virtual press event, Ms Laser was asked what might have been the outcome had Mr Kennedy sought to enage in a Muslim prayer on the edge of the sports field. “When when the court heard the case challenging Donald Trump's Muslim ban, it wasn't the least bit interested in protecting the rights of people of minority faiths.” Protesters angry as Biden campaign ask for donation after Roe v Wade ruling The ruling in the case, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, rejected the local school district’s concerns that in a public school setting Mr Kennedy’s prayers and Christian-infused speeches could be seen as coercive to students or a governmental endorsement of a particular religion in violation of the first amendment’s so-called establishment clause. The Constitution does not authorise, let alone require, public schools to embrace this conduct.” She added: “Official-led prayer strikes at the core of our constitutional protections for the religious liberty of students and their parents.“ The ruling was welcomed by the group that had supported Mr Kennedy in the case in the Bremerton School District, located in the greater Seattle area.