Public schools are now a battlefield of ideologies. Schools are able to teach CRT and others can fire teachers because they say boys are boys, girls are girls. Other schools are trying to stop parents speaking out about their extreme curricula. We have seen organizations protesting when schools display their Christian faith.
Liberty-Benton High School in Findlay, OH, has come under heavy scrutiny in recent days ever since the Freedom from Religion Foundation discovered that football head coach Scott Garlock leads his team in the Lord’s Prayer before games – oh, the horror – amongst other faith-based activities.
Members of the group wrote to Mark Kowalski, Superintendent School Districts on September 1, and stated:
Garlock orders players to take part in team prayer, lead students in the Lord’s Prayer, and then guide them in post-game prayers. These practices began many years ago by Coach Garlock, when he was team coach. Coach Garlock passed these on to his next coach. Coach Garlock took over the practice until he became the head coach for the second year.
FRF Staff Attorney Christopher Line cited the Supreme Court’s has continuous promotion the separation of Church and State. Kowalski countered several weeks later by citing the school’s Policy 8880, which says that “any student may choose to engage in religious expression before, during, or after school in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is permitted to engage in secular activities or expression.”
“The district will not adopt policies, operations, or procedures that curtail these rights,” Kowalski responded.
It can seem difficult to use a team of sportsmen to support certain religious values. We have witnessed football leagues from different countries promote many causes and beliefs, including awareness of breast cancer and Black Lives Matter as well as land recognition for indigenous tribes. So what makes Coach Garlock’s expression of personal beliefs any different?
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Short, it’s nothing.
Coach Garlock’s actions are not endangering anyone, and he is not threatening students with being cut if they do not share his beliefs. Garlock is only integrating his beliefs and vision into his team’s culture.
The only difference between Garlock’s actions and the actions of other teams is that he is promoting a belief system that is widely considered to be “offensive.” Hopefully, Liberty-Benton can avoid being silenced and Garlock can continue to be offensive.
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