Federal Court: Coach Can't Encourage Religious Rituals

In 2005, it was revealed that coach Marcus Borden had spent 23 years not just leading the football team on the field, but also leading the team in prayer. Complaints were made and Borden said he would quit because he didn't think he could coach if he weren't allowed to lead his players in religious rituals, but then he changed his mind and promised to fight in court for the authority to use his publicly-funded position to promote his religion.

A district court ruled in his favor because the judge didn't think that kneeling and bowing in prayer qualified as a "religious" action. Religious believers themselves appealed and now the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled unanimously against Borden. Coaches, teachers, and all school officials have been clearly told that they are not allowed to use their positions of authority to promote their own religious beliefs. What sort of person actually needs to be told this, though?

Americans United reports:

The three-judge panel held that the school district’s policy prohibiting staff participation in student prayer was not unconstitutional, rejecting Borden’s claims that the policies violated his constitutional rights.

“We find that, based on the history of Borden’s conduct with the team’s prayers, his acts cross the line and constitute an unconstitutional endorsement of religion,” wrote Judge D. Michael Fisher. “Although Borden believes that he must continue to engage in these actions to demonstrate solidarity with his team, which is perhaps good for a football team’s unity, we must consider whether a reasonable observer would perceive his actions as endorsing religion, not whether Borden intends to endorse religion.”

Continued Fisher, “[I]n Borden’s case, the conclusion we reach today is clear because he organized, participated in, and led prayer activities with his team on numerous occasions for twenty-three years. Thus, a reasonable observer would conclude that he is continuing to endorse religion when he bows his head during the pre-meal grace and takes a knee with his team in the locker room while they pray.”

For all their complaints about "respecting" an individual's freedom of religion, I haven't seen any Christian Right organizations side with the school in this. Why? Do they really think that the religious beliefs of the parents don't deserve respect? After all, a school isn't respecting the religious beliefs of parents and families when that school decides that it has the authority to decide what sorts of religious rituals a student will participate in or be encouraged to participate in.

And what about the students themselves? Superintendent Jo Ann Magistro said right at the beginning that coaches who lead their teams in prayers are not respecting the principles and beliefs all of their players. They are placing their own beliefs (and presumably the beliefs of a majority of players) ahead of the beliefs of the minority. This isn’t for the sake of athleticism, performance, or simply winning; instead, it’s for the sake of personal religious ideology. The students who complained received even less respect because they faced taunting and bullying in retaliation for bringing his actions to the public's attention.

Many Christians — liberal as well as conservative — whine about atheists not "respecting" religious beliefs and religious believers, but there is far more disrespect involved in the actions of Christians like Borden than in the criticisms of any atheists. A critical or even satirical atheist isn't abusing a position of authority to promote some religious belief or discourage some other religious belief. Respect cannot be reduced to simply being "nice" or not rocking the boat.

Respect has to involve allowing a person to find their own way and exist as an autonomous individual. This sort of respect is not lacking in atheists, not even in those who are the fiercest critics of religion and theism. It is, however, lacking in many Christians — and even in Christianity itself, given how orthodox Christianity portrays itself as the only legitimate belief system.