News by email Donate

Suggestions

Take the knee first liberty challenge joe kennedy thumb.png
Take the knee first liberty challenge joe kennedy thumb.png
USA News

US campaign launched to restore public prayer and expressions of faith

by Heather Preston

A new drive to uphold the right to pray and express religious beliefs in public settings has been launched in the United States.

First Liberty Institute Texas announced the "Restoring Faith in America" campaign on Monday and seeks to defend the right to display the ten commandments, nativity scenes and other faith affirmations, as well as to protect the right to pray openly.

In 2015, Christian football coach Joe Kennedy was sacked from Bremerton High School in Washington for praying on the field after games.

A lawsuit was later filed against the school district.

In 2022, the US Supreme Court backed Kennedy, ruling that the Washington State public school district had violated his rights by suspending him for refusing to stop leading post-game prayers with players.

Kennedy was later reinstated to his previous position as assistant coach.

Kennedy's attorney for the case, Paul Clement, is encouraging Americans to "take a knee" with Coach Kennedy on 1st September to support public affirmations of faith. The First Freedom Challenge calls on people to commit to joining a national night of prayer with the coach as he returns to the field next month.

Speaking for First Liberty Institute on YouTube, he said: "This is a great opportunity to take a knee with the coach and show everybody that we are restoring faith in America, and people can see that the right that the Supreme Court has recognised is real because people are exercising that right with the coach."

The Restoring Faith in America campaign describes the challenge as the "first simple yet powerful step" to restore faith in US schools.

"God has opened an incredible door for all Americans to express their faith and bring faith back to our communities," it adds.

District-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State argue such campaigns promote "religious majoritarianism," not religious freedom.

CEO Rachel Laser told The Washington Times this form of liberty is "not an America that works for us or an America that most people want".

 

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate