SW News: In the United States, a new campaign to uphold the right of believers to pray in public and express their beliefs in public settings has been initiated. It is the First Liberty Institute Texas that announced the Restoring Faith in America campaign on August 21.

The initiative seeks to protect the privilege to display the Decalogue, Nativity Scenes and other symbols of the faith in public spaces. It also demands the right to pray in the open. This comes in the wake of the United States Supreme Court ruling that former high school football coach Joe Kennedy had every right to pray in public and exercise his freedom of religion. This came after he was sacked from Bremerton High School in Washington for praying on the turf after a match.

He won the case at the Supreme Court last year and in the ruling, the top court said that the free exercise of religion and free speech clauses of the First Amendment protected the former coach’s prayer with the players on the ground as he was an individual who was engaging in religious expression. In March this year, the school reinstated Kennedy to his former role as football coach. He also won a 2 million USD settlement that the school authorities agreed to for his attorney fees.

In a statement, Bremerton School District said that it would completely comply with the Supreme Court verdict. It said, it “remains steadfast in its commitment to respecting the rights and religious freedom of students, families, and school staff, and to keeping football games, and all school events, safe for the students we serve.”

The school district said that it looked forward to “moving past the distraction of this nearly eight-year legal battle so that our school community focuses on what matters most: providing children the best education possible.”