A new challenge for schools and teachers: school prayer

As public school teachers return to their classrooms this fall, they will have to manage the ongoing challenges gripping today’s educational landscape: a workforce facing high rates of burnout, students’ learning and wellbeing affected by the pandemic and safety concerns amid rising gun violence in many communities. Yet after a landmark Supreme Court decision handed down this summer, America’s educators will be contending with another issue that is sure to inject more uncertainty into an already tough teaching environment: when and where prayer can happen on public school grounds.

This June, the Supreme Court decided in favor of Joseph Kennedy, a high school coach who prayed with students in the middle of the football field after their games. Kennedy sued the Bremerton School District in Washington state for violating his constitutional rights after the district did not renew his contract due to Kennedy’s refusal to stop praying with students on the field. Ultimately, the court found that the school district violated the coach’s First Amendment rights; his public prayer did not violate the establishment clause, which prohibits government entities, like public schools, from endorsing a particular religion.

While the merits of the court’s decision can be argued by scholars and legal experts, there is one clear result: Teachers and other public school employees are now left more confused than ever about what is permissible when it comes to praying in schools.

Already since the court’s decision, religious activists, school officials and social media provocateurs have pushed wildly different — and sometimes blatantly unconstitutional — interpretations of the case and its impact on the American education system. In the wake of this incredibly nuanced decision, public school districts must now fill this information void by providing their employees with guidelines on when and where prayer in school is appropriate.

The trouble grows when some mistakenly consider the court’s decision as a blanket victory for religious freedom. In fact, there are many who believe this decision addresses the growing public concern that religious liberties are in danger. According to a recent survey on the First Amendment from the Freedom Forum, more than half of Americans say religious freedoms are under threat, with almost as many saying Christianity is especially threatened.

The reality is that teachers do not lose their First Amendment rights when they walk through the school doors, but there are some limits to how they can express themselves. The court’s ruling affirms a teacher’s right to bring their whole selves to the workplace, though this does not necessarily apply to the classroom.

For example, if a group of teachers want to pray together before, after or during the school day, that should be permitted as long as students are not present. Teachers can pray alone or even around students, as long as it is silent and non-disruptive.

At the same time, the Supreme Court has long held that school-sponsored prayer, delivered by a teacher or a student, is unconstitutional, and that has not changed. Public school teachers, bound by the First Amendment as employees of the government, cannot use their position to promote their private religious beliefs. That means they cannot actively participate in religious activities with or in the immediate presence of students while on duty. Coach Kennedy’s prayer was ruled constitutional because “Mr. Kennedy did not seek to direct any prayers to students or require anyone else to participate.”

When teachers lead students in prayer, they not only violate the establishment clause but more important, they violate the religious freedom rights of students. Those students who do not share their teachers’ beliefs may feel coerced to participate to secure a good grade or starting position on a sports team. In such cases, teachers place their students in the situation of having to choose between an education and their deeply held beliefs.

Given the constitutional complexities of teachers praying while at work, the best practice for teachers may be the simplest one. Indeed, given that one of the most important roles an educator has is protecting the conscience of all their students, the easiest way to do that is to pray in private.

David Callaway is the religious freedom specialist for the Freedom Forum.