Is it good only for Christians?

To the editor:

On June 27, in a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects the right of a school coach to pray in public on an athletic field during the school day in the presence of students — members of the team he has coached.

Writing for the majority — the six conservative members of the court — Justice Neil Gorsuch asserted that the First Amendment offers that protection.

“Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse republic, whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field, and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a bowed head,” he wrote.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a member of the minority, wrote in her dissent that in such a situation, many students would undoubtedly feel pressure not only to listen to the coach’s prayers, but in some cases feel compelled to act as if they are in total agreement with his words.

The coach in the case, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, is a devout Christian. Because of his insistence on continuing his public prayers, the Bremerton public school where he coached did not renew his contract, and his termination as a coach ultimately led to his case being heard by the Supreme Court.

Would the court have agreed to hear the case if the coach had been a Muslim, intoning Muslim prayers on the athletic field?

Would the court have agreed to hear the case if the coach had been a Hindu, intoning Hindu prayers on the athletic field?

Would the court have agreed to hear the case if the coach had been a Buddhist, saying Buddhist prayers on the athletic field?

Would the court have agreed to hear the case if the coach had been a Jain? A Sikh? A member of the Baha’i faith? A Druze?

A follower of Confucius? A follower of Shintoism? A follower of Zoroaster? A believer in Taoism?

A member of the Native American Church? A disciple of the Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Schneerson? A believer in Animism? A member of the Church of All Worlds? A devotee of the Mami Wata faith? A follower of the Yoruba faith? A follower of Falun Gong? A believer in Cheondoism?

I wonder.

Miriam Levine Helbok