The Supreme Court: Here's Why the Unanimous Shurtleff vs. City of Boston Decision Is Even More Important than the 6-3 Dobbs

PJ Media ^ | 03/17/2023 | Mark Tapscott

[SeekAndFind]

It sparked no protest demonstrations or riots in the streets and none of the nine Supreme Court Justices who unanimously decided Shurtleff v. City of Boston faced protestors in their front yards or left-wing nutcases threatening them with murder.

No, it was the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Womens’ Health Organization, decided on a 6-3 count, that prompted the violence, anger, and death threats. And it is true that Dobbs, because it reversed the infamous Roe v. Wade decision and thereby returned the issue of abortion to the state legislatures, remains the fuel for all kinds of political debate and controversy.

But, as important as Dobbs surely is, Shurtleff restored the right of every American to practice and express their religious beliefs, as guaranteed by the First Amendment. As Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver put it recently:

This 9-0 decision from the Supreme Court involving the Christian flag continues to have an impact across the nation. The clear message from the Supreme Court is that government must not discriminate based on viewpoint. The government cannot favor one viewpoint and censor another and cannot censor religious viewpoints under the guise of government speech. Any governments that are ignoring this ruling are setting themselves up for potential lawsuits.

The facts of Shurtleff were simple enough: Boston city officials barred the display of a flag bearing a Christian message in a square that for decades had welcomed the flags of a wide spectrum of causes, movements, and organizations. They did so because the application submitted by the sponsoring group referred to it as a “Christian flag.”

[SeekAndFind]

But it was not just the justices affirming that the First Amendment protects religious expression that makes Shurtleff a landmark decision of immense significance. The justices also laid the groundwork for reversing the “Lemon Test” the Court had established way back in 1971 in Lemon v. Kurtzman.

As Anne Howe on Scotus Blog explained following the Court’s Kennedy v. Bremerton School District decision, the Lemon test was used for decades by the Court “to decide that a law or practice will pass constitutional muster if it has a secular purpose, its principal effect does not advance or inhibit religion, and it does not create an ‘excessive entanglement with religion.’”

The Bremerton decision affirmed that high school football coach Joseph Kennedy had the right to pray in public at the 50-yard line after games in which his players competed, representing a public school.

[Tommy Revolts]

...the right of every American to practice and express their religious beliefs, as guaranteed by the First Amendment.

The homofascists will not be happy about this ruling.

Bake the Cake!

[wbarmy]

9-0 decision from the Supreme Court really puts the nail in that coffin. If even the liberal hacks on the court thought this one through, what must the arguments from the other side looked like?

[aMorePerfectUnion]

More💣💥‼️

“ Since the “Lemon Test” is dead and the Establishment Clause must be interpreted according to its historical intent, all the cases that relied on the Lemon test are no longer good law, including cases that struck down prayer, Ten Commandments, Nativity displays or other religious symbols, religious performances, religious speech and expression, rental of public school facilities for church services when other secular use is permitted, student aid programs, and much more.”

[Wuli]

When I went to Junior and Senior High School, it was at school campus that included both the Junior and Senior High schools, together (same principle, vice principle and deans & counselors, same body of classroooms, different schedules, different classes, different curriculum, same cafeteria, separate lunch areas, same boys and girls P.E./gymn coaches & facilities, separate Jr & Sr PE/Gymn class times). By the 9th grade the campus was overcrowded. But across one street was a Mormon church that rented its sunday school classrooms to our Jr/Sr High. I had one class in those classrooms. There was no big legal to do about it. There was also after school religious clubs that met on campus. Again, no legal big deal. In the latter two matters there was likely no big legal issue because no atheists/secular humanists protested about it.

[joma89]

Leftists in government voted in by useful idiot democrats are the enemy of freedom, folks.

[nwrep]

Once again conservatives celebrate over crumbs from the Supreme Court.

[daniel1212]

Which resulted in the non-theistic Satanic temple seeking to fly their flag in parody. The Founders never foresaw the result of not clarifying the First Amendment as referring to formal theistic religions, while not forbidding affirmation of the same in general by government, as it does re non-theistic ideologies as non-binary humans.

Meanwhile I myself blocked the soft porn of the commercialize PJ Media, with its hosting of adclick.g.doubleclick.net ads.