This essay recently won first place in the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government’s First Amendment essay contest for high school students. The essay prompt focused on the creation of the “After School Satan Club” at Lebanon Elementary School — with the motto “Educatin’ with Satan” — formed as a science-based alternative to the religiously oriented “Good News Club” that had received permission to meet at the school.
If we, as Americans, are stripped of the right to be “Educatin’ with Satan,” then we do not truly have religious freedom.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution clearly establishes that citizens are free to practice any religion of their choosing without government abridgment. Because of its free exercise clause, we have long enjoyed diversity of thought and the freedom to practice our beliefs without fear of infringement.
With this freedom though, controversy and disagreement are inevitable. Throughout American history, there have been never-ending questions about the extent to which the First Amendment applies.
In Lebanon today, this debate continues. Some parents view the After School Satan Club as “evil,” believing that the group should not be allowed to meet, while not denouncing the Good News Club. This position is severely hypocritical. If we expect religious freedom for ourselves, we must extend the same right to all groups, even those we disagree with.
Both the Good News Club and the After School Satan Club have the legal right to use Lebanon’s elementary school building for their organizations. It has been legally proven that students have the right to use their school facilities for religious gatherings, in the same way that secular clubs may congregate.
The Equal Access Act was a federal law passed in 1984 that prohibits federally funded schools from discriminating against religious after-school programs, so long as students attend these meetings willingly. In 1990, the Supreme Court upheld the Constitutionality of the Equal Access Act in an 8-1 decision when it was questioned, in the case of Westside Community Board of Education v. Mergens.
This landmark case centered around a group of students who were denied permission from their local school board to establish an after-school Bible study program. Because the school permitted other student-interest groups, they were required to allow religious groups to meet as well. Based on the precedent established’ by Mergens, both the After School Satan Club and the Good News Club are permitted to use Lebanon Elementary School for their respective purposes.
The school is, according to the Constitution, required to extend the same permissions and opportunities to all groups, regardless of perspective. Mergens offers a simple way to avoid this problem, though: if a school prohibits all interest based clubs, issues such as Lebanon’s could be avoided. Schools must choose to either allow all interest-based clubs to meet, or none at all.
Some rational limits must be placed on after-school clubs, though. Participation in the clubs must be entirely voluntary, and all involved must strictly adhere to all federal, state, and local laws. Additionally, the school board must not become intertwined with either of the organizations financially or ideologically. In order to preserve our freedom of religion, the right to congregate should not be abridged for any group based on ideology.
Religion has the power to unite us or to create massive rifts between us. We often take for granted the freedoms we are granted surrounding our beliefs.
In the world we live in today, we are too quick to judge others for their views without stopping to perhaps listen to novel ideas. It is now more important than ever, as society becomes increasingly polarized, to respect one another’s views. I am not personally religious, but I can understand the imminent dangers of living in a society where religion is either forced or banned.
As religion encroaches more and more into politics, it is increasingly vital to preserve our right to not only freedom of religion, but freedom of thought as well.
Hannah Saccente is a senior at Rocky Hill High School.