Members of a Christian youth club can meet after-hours on public school property without violating the constitutional principle of separation of church and state, the United States Supreme Court ruled June 11.
Members of a Christian youth club can meet after-hours on public school property without violating the constitutional principle of separation of church and state, the United States Supreme Court ruled June 11.
The decision represents a win for “fundamental fairness,” says Mitchell Tyner, an associate general counsel for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Adventist Church last year filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of the Good News Club. “We felt this was a case with widespread implications for Christians in the United States,” explains Tyner, who says that local Adventist churches have sometimes been refused the use of public school facilities made available to other community organizations.
“The Adventist Church has been a longstanding advocate for proper boundaries between church and state,” Tyner adds. “We believe the state should not endorse religious activity, either explicitly or implicitly.” But he says the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution “does not mandate hostility toward religion. It is a basic issue of fairness that religious groups have access to public facilities on the same basis as other groups.”
The Good News Club dispute began when Milford Central School authorities refused to allow a Christian youth group to use school facilities after-hours, arguing that to do so would imply an unconstitutional endorsement of the club’s religious activities. In its six to three decision, the Supreme Court said that by “denying the Club access . . . on the ground that the Club was religious in nature, Milford discriminated against the Club because of its religious viewpoint” thus violating the Free Speech Clause of the United States Constitution.
“Not surprisingly, not everyone is pleased with the result,” says James Standish, an attorney and director of legislative affairs for the Adventist Church worldwide. He notes that one organization has gone so far as to state that the court’s ruling “means aggressive fundamentalist evangelists have a new way to proselytize school kids.” Standish says this is a distortion of the facts, and points out that “only children whose parents signed a consent form approving their child’s involvement with the club could attend its meetings.”