We are about to find out.  The United States Supreme Court is set to decide whether it will hear the case of New Jersey High School Coach Marcus Bowden.  Bowden has asked the court to review a ruling from the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in April in which an appeals panel reversed a 2006 ruling that permitted Borden to silently bow his head and “take a knee” with his players as the team prayed. The judges said the school board’s policy barring school staff from joining in student-led prayer was constitutional. Coach Borden later quit the team rather than be prohibited from participating in team prayers.

Classic Establishment Clause separation of church and state issue. Should the Supreme Court take a new look at this issue?   Can the coach add his prayers to the mix for Jesus to help kick the game winning field goal?  It is an issue that has support on both sides.  The American Football Coaches Association held its annual convention  last month, and filed a petition supporting Borden’s case.  Its board also voted unanimously to support Borden.   The Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a civil liberties watchdog group based in Washington, D.C is lined up for a goal line stance on the other side.

Rob Boston, senior policy analyst for the group told the Tennessean. “The main message we’re trying to make to folks is that you just need to be careful about bringing any of these religions into school because the way you treat one is the way you must treat them all,”

If you look at previous Supreme Court decisions, it appears that Jesus will shank this one “wide right” when the Supreme Court rules.

In 2000, the court ruled that hat a Texas public school district policy permitting “student led” prayer at high school athletic events was unconstitutional, and violated the separation of church and state. The case was Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe. In finding that such a policy violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment the court stated:

“School sponsorship of a religious message is impermissible because it sends the ancillary message to members of the audience who are nonadherents that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members of the political community,”

Lower federal courts have also found that it is also unconstitutional for a school official, including a coach, to initiate or lead a team in prayer.

As we sit here today the law of the land is that the only type of public school prayer that is permitted is voluntary prayer presented and led by students without official permission or sanction provided that it is not coercive in any way.  Duncanville Independent School Dist., v. John Doe, 994 F. 2d 160 (5th Cir. 1993).   If coach Bowden stood there and prayed quietly to himself(which he certainly had the option, no harm no foul and Touchdown Jesus is back on the playing field.  By participating even passively in the voluntary team pre-game prayer, it will likely be looked at as a public “sanctioning” of the activity by a school official and therefore violative of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.  My prediction is that the Supreme Court will refuse to hear his appeal.