WASHINGTON, DC – The Family Foundation applauds today’s U.S. Supreme Court 6-3 decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District upholding America’s first right of religious freedom. The Family Foundation filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of Coach Joseph Kennedy, who was fired from a public school in Washington State after he prayed briefly at the 50-yard line.
Statement from David Walls, Executive Director of The Family Foundation:
“Today’s victory for Coach Kennedy is a win for all Americans and for our right to religious freedom. Society suffers when our First Amendment freedoms are violated. No American should ever be fired by the Government for simply saying a prayer.
“I am thankful that the Constitution and common sense prevailed today and hope that the increasing Government hostility towards prayer and religious expression will come to an end. Coach Kennedy must be commended for his years-long fight to protect our most fundamental freedom,” Walls concluded.
As we stated in the amicus brief we signed onto, “when courts demand that religious voices be silenced, and when every display of personal religious conviction is treated like asbestos in a public school, a hazard which must be contained and removed, the result is not neutrality, but hostility.”
Coach Kennedy began saying a brief prayer following games years ago. Initially he did so alone, but some students asked him what he was doing. When they asked if they could join, he responded, “This is a free country,” and “You can do what you want.” When the school learned what he was doing, it demanded he stop, but he felt responsible to thank God for the games in that way. As a result, he lost his job.
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The Family Foundation is the leading Christian public policy organization in Kentucky and stands for Kentucky families and the Biblical values that make them strong. Learn more at kentuckyfamily.org.
