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John Whitehead's Commentary

The Supreme Court Recognizes That Hostility Toward Religion Is Just As Dangerous As Its Endorsement

John Whitehead
In an important victory for religious freedom, the Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 that public schools may not discriminate against student clubs simply because they feature Bible study, religious songs and prayer.

Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute argued the case on behalf of the Good News Club. The Supreme Court ruling should be the final nail in the coffin for those who still argue that religious activity and the state should be hermetically sealed off from one another. Perhaps most importantly, the Court recognized the fundamental principle that state hostility toward religion can be just as dangerous as state endorsement of religion.

The club's journey began in New York state when Milford Central School decided to allow people in its district to use the school building after school hours for civic and educational purposes. Groups such as the Boy Scouts took advantage of the policy, which was intended to promote community welfare.

Then the Good News Club, a private Christian organization for children from 6 to 12-years-old, asked to hold club meetings in the school. Milford denied the club's request, pointing out that religious worship was barred under its school use policy and saying that club activities like singing Christian songs, memorizing scripture and praying were indistinguishable from worship.

The Good News Club challenged Milford's discrimination in federal court. And as often happens in religious discrimination cases, both the federal district court and the federal appeals court ruled in favor of the school district.

But the United States Supreme Court was not as forgiving of the school district's religious discrimination. It noted that religious speakers have the same rights to access public places as every other speaker. Public officials have no more right to discriminate against a religious point of view than any other point of view.

The school district tried to argue that an elementary school is different. Young children, school district attorneys asserted, might believe that if the school allowed the religious club to meet, it was endorsing religion.

On this point, the Court made a crucial observation--one that too many critics who hail the absolute separation of church and state fail to notice--that is, children are just as likely to perceive banning a religious club as hostile to religion as allowing a club to be granting special favors to religion. And hostility to religion is just as unconstitutional as granting special favors to it. Thus, there is no principled reason to ban religious groups--especially since it is so dangerous to their free speech rights.

This may be the most important point in the case. For years, groups opposed to religious freedom in public schools have championed the idea that children will always perceive religious activity in schools to be an endorsement by the school--regardless of where, when or how it occurs. The Good News decision highlights the reality of the situation--children can be harmed even more when they perceive the state being hostile to religion.

There certainly will be further battles over the boundaries of religious freedom. The Court's decision laid waste to the rationale of several recent federal appeals court rulings, decisions that are certain to be challenged with the ammunition the Good News Club has provided.

But the foundation of these challenges has shifted in a fundamental way. This is because the Supreme Court has recognized the truth: telling students it's wrong to believe in God is just as dangerous as telling them they must believe in God.
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.

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