Sports, Faith, and the Constitution
A Legal History Public School Athletic Directors and Coaches Should Know
Kevin Weaver
2024-2025
Abstract
Can teachers, coaches, and students pray in public schools? Can public schools partner with religious organizations? For educators, coaches, and administrators in public schools, the line between separating church and state and allowing the free exercise of one’s faith can be ambiguous. It is important for those working in public education to be familiar with the history of the relationship between church and state in the United States, as well as recent Supreme Court decisions that establish precedents for future cases. Educators, including coaches, are sometimes confronted with situations where they must balance their mentoring or responses to traumatic events with their religious beliefs. To gain a better understanding of the relationship between church and state in the United States, it is helpful to be aware of the three theories of thought. The strict separation theory advocates for a clear division between church and state. The theory of neutrality takes a middle ground, neither strictly separating nor accommodating. The third theory, accommodation, allows for religion in public governance. Most recently, the Judiciary has significantly influenced the evolution of the relationship between Church and State in cases involving school choice and religious speech. The rights derived from the religion clauses have created an interesting constitutional dichotomy. These differing perspectives reflect a larger societal debate, particularly in 2024. In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in Kennedy v. Bremerton that a coach praying with his players and opposing team members in the middle of the field at the end of the game was a legal exercise of free speech and the Free Exercise Clause. Nearly twenty years earlier, in Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, the Supreme Court ruled that prayer led by school affiliates over the PA system before a game violated the Establishment Clause. This paper explores sports, faith, and the Constitution, using the Kennedy and Santa Fe cases to contribute to the broader discussion surrounding the evolution of the religion clauses.