When our Nation’s Founding Fathers wrote the Establishment Clause into the Bill of Rights, they envisioned it as a protective device – a means of safeguarding citizens from a federally-mandated religion. In just over two hundred years, it has instead become a weapon often wielded by government bureaucrats to stamp out any vestige of religion from our public life. judiciary even warned that religious liberty is “fast becoming a disfavored right.”
Among the most likely to brandish the Establishment Clause are school districts. Instead of cultivating conversations and curiosity, district officials are quick to quash any conversation that dare mention the Divine.
This time of year is particularly ripe for censorship.
Over the next several weeks, valedictorians all over the country will deliver commencement speeches and express gratitude for all the people who helped them complete school. Unfortunately, some schools will use this as an opportunity to censor graduation speeches under a perverted understanding of the Establishment Clause.
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Instead of embracing the private speech of their brightest students, districts claim that the “separation of church and state” requires the government to rid graduation ceremonies of religious expression. Because the Constitution requires the opposite, First Liberty Institute often represents valedictorians who face censorship by school officials.
Last year, Elizabeth Turner’s hard work earned her the right to speak at graduation as valedictorian. In her speech, Elizabeth referenced her faith saying, “For me, my future hope is found in faith” target=”_blank”>my relationship with Christ<
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But the law goes even further to protect students’ religious liberty rights in school. Schools cannot establish a “religion of secularism” by showing hostility to religion, thus preferring students who believe in no religion over those who do believe. This kind of censorship is called viewpoint discrimination, and it is unconstitutional. On this front, the Establishment Clause cannot be weaponized against students.
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In a time when religious liberty is increasingly attacked, it’s important to have brave people like Elizabeth and Savannah. The law is clear that students and teachers do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate. As laboratories of democracy, it is vital that religious freedom thrive in our schools. This graduation season, we encourage students across the country to celebrate embarking on their new journey in life by rejoicing in the religious freedom we have in America.
Keisha Russell is Counsel to First Liberty Institute, a non-profit law firm dedicated to defending religious freedom for all.
