Discussion: Satanists Plan 'Theatrical' Protest For Football Coach Put On Leave For Praying

Discussion for article #242313

Senior class president Abe Bartlett said Wednesday that he was one of a few students who invited the Satanic Temple of Seattle

Awesome. That is true leadership. A round of applause to the Bremerton HS student body for their astute choice.

(Note: not being sarcastic! High schools are full of smart, progressive kids, but somehow I’m still surprised when one of them gets elected to the student government.)

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Refused to comply? And the School Resource Officer didn’t kick his ass across the football field? He is one lucky son-of-a-bitch thaty didn’t happen in South Carolina. Not complying there is a capital offense.

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The Coach was violating no laws when he prayed. The law is clear…you make not make others pray. But you can pray if you like. I think this man does have a religious freedom beef and I think the appropriate finale should be the removal of everyone involved in his suspension. If they’re that dumb…they should go.

I have some experience with this. Years ago in a debate over restrictions on prayer in public school I faced a wingnut that claimed it was illegal to pray in school because liberals hate God. So I suggested we adjourn the debate and continue it at the local High School. I asked the principal if a kid could say grace before eating in the cafeteria…he answered of course. Could they pray in a group before an exam if they all choose to be in that group…yes again. You just cannot make them pray if they don’t want to.

The question I have is, do players feel pressure to join or risk losing a spot on the team or less playing time? There is a lot of space between “making” a kid participate and applying pressure to get them to “voluntarily” participate. Peer pressure is tough, add in pressure from your coach makes it worse.

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Just like no one should be offended if a coach were to roll out a prayer rug mid-field, post-game and bow five times toward mecca. But I think we know how that would go over. Kid’s got a grade A point.

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Well I was keeping it real world…

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" robes, incense, we have a gong," chapter head Lilith Starr said. "

My high-school didn’t have anything like this.

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That said, regardless of whether it is or is not illegal, his employer specifically told him no to do it. He refused. Now the are paying him not to work. Washington is an at-will employment state. They could just have fired him for cause.

The reason it might violate fed/state laws is that some of the football players might feel coerced into praying because the coach does. “You’re not one o’ them ay-thee-ists, are you, Johnson?”

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Maybe kids on the team feel pressured to pray even if they don’t want just because their coach is doing it publicly?

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Could a teacher lead a voluntary prayer in class before an exam? She strictly fair, and nobody is sanctioned for not joining in, so would that be all right?

“[The Satanic Temple] rejects the notion of supernatural deities and espouses values such as scientific inquiry and compassion.”

Clearly, these radical and dangerous views are well outside the mainstream.

We must suppress this fanatic extremism.

For the sake of the children.

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I think his doing it in the middle of the field, making it such a public display and the peer pressure aspect of it is the big thing. It seems like he’d be better off to host it after the game in say a corner of the parking lot or at some nearby church. And the whole public display thing seems so against the direct words of Jesus that “Christians should go pray in your closet” not make a big public display like the heathen pharisees. That part of it is what seems so ridiculous to me . It just astounds me.

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Can a parent pressure a child to pray?
This argument can go on forever, people pray and people don’t pray. People pray in public, and some people don’t pray in public. Some are Catholics, Presbyterian, Mormon, Muslim, Greek Orthodox, ect…

Unless the State is telling me that I have to Pray or, I can not Pray , or I must pray to a certain god, life will go on.

Some folks pray even if they don’t believe so their parents don’t have to worry during their last few years about their son going to hell because he no longer believes…so I heard…

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The group doesn’t believe in Satan except as “a potent symbol of rebellion against tyranny,” it says on its website. It’s an atheist group that rejects the notion of supernatural deities and espouses values such as scientific inquiry and compassion, it says.

As a fellow non believer I can’t believe(there I go not believing again!) they waste time doing this. Hey whatever floats your boat I guess.

I’m not sold either way. I truly see your point, RichardinJax, but I also see everyone else’s. One thought that comes to my mind is that the asst. coach represents the school/school district, is also in a very prominent leadership role. By choosing to very publicly praying (on district property) at a school-sponsored event–and being in a leadership role–makes his doing so appear to be doing so for the school/students, etc.

That said, it would be nice to hear from a non-interested legal expert in religious freedom and public schools. I wouldn’t trust Liberty people as far as I could throw my apartment building. I suspect they will take this to court. Docmoore brings up an interesting angle: WA State’s employment laws, etc. That might be the point on which this could be decided – meaning it would come down to a patchwork approach nationwide depending on the state’s employment laws.

Public Minnesota College to Install Foot-Washing Basins for Muslim Students

University of Michigan-Dearborn’s position on accommodating student needs
University of Michigan-Dearborn has a strong commitment to a pluralistic society. We foster a culture of respect and tolerance, and we have a long history of openness on our campus. This is due to the efforts of our faculty, staff and students to create a climate where people of different racial, ethnic, or religious backgrounds can learn and work together in a civil and mutually respectful manner.

Our recent decision to modify existing facilities to provide two foot-washing stations is a reflection of our values of respect, tolerance, and safe accommodation of student needs.

Pastor angry over airport foot baths

See we do accommodate religion

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“I don’t think this controversial middle ground is what our school needs.”

Deliberate mischaracterization. It’s not a “middle ground.” When you are an employee of the state and an authority figure over the children, engaging in public religious displays in the context of your employment and authority implicitly sanctions a particular religion and creates pressure for the children to conform. Want approval? Pray with coach. Want play time? Pray with coach. Want more plays called in your direction? Pray with coach. Want to fit in with the rest of the team who prays with coach even though you don’t practice that religion? Pray with coach. It doesn’t matter if the quid pro quo is not an explicit arrangement or treated like a mandatory requirement. It is IMPLICIT.

People who are not state employees and authority figures over the children can do whatever the fuck they want in the stands or on school property. Fuck a goat by the hotdog cart for all we care. Moreover, accommodating the student body’s diversity of religious beliefs is NOT the same as allowing a state employee authority figure to publicly pray, in the context of his employment and authority, with children over whom he has that authority.

This whole fucking nonsense of pretending distinctions don’t exist or that distinctions make no difference is a direct product of the false equivalence culture propagated and promoted by our media. It’s lazy thinking at its most inert.

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Lol. “We have a gong”!

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