A flawed prayer for religious liberty

The “Florida Student and School Personnel Religious Liberty Act” is heading to the governor’s desk cloaked in the garb of religious freedom.

It cleared the pertinent legislative committees without a single “No” vote and received nearly the same enthusiastic reception in both the House and Senate with mostly Democrats in opposition.

Why? What liberties does this bill protect that aren’t protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Access Act, which schools must uphold or face a loss of federal funding? Even the “Students Attired for Education Act,” whose principal target is clothing deemed offensive, carved out space for religious images.

If redundancy was the only problem with Senate Bill 436, critics would probably grouse mildly and find another issue to oppose. But SB 436 does more. It swings wide the schoolhouse door and lets in the religious zealot.

It empowers teachers to impose their religious views on students, students to turn the stamp club into a prayer club, parents to hijack the PTA meeting. Supporters dismiss those concerns as unrealistic hypotheticals. Perhaps so, but the art of writing laws should reduce the opportunity for the hypotheticals to become realities.

Consider the provision that allows religious activities “to the same extent as secular” activities. Public schools typically hold scores of secular activities, from the chess club to a pre-game pep rally. That opens to door to an awful lot of prayer.

Another provision places everyday clothing, jewelry and symbolic images on par with religious garb. Blouse to burka? Baseball cap to yarmulke?

Rep. Richard Stark, D-Weston, is one of the bill’s opponents. He sees it as a bill teeming with unintended consequences.

“If I’m a teacher and want to express my religious views in class, this bill allows that,” he says. “If I want to make a religious statement at the Friday night pep rally, I’m free to do so.’’

The irony is, he says, “This bill won’t pass constitutional muster.”

The Florida Anti-Defamation League is another opponent and a powerful one given the ADL’s sterling First Amendment credentials.

SB 436 empowers “students, teachers and parents to impose their faith on students in captive audience settings,” the ADL argues.

The bill will “subject children to religious coercion, divide public schools along religious lines and result in costly legislation,” it said in a call to arms addressed to opponents.

Some of us pray together. Some of us pray alone. Some of us don’t pray at all. Whatever our belief, it is ours and ours alone to embrace as we see fit — or not.

Whenever government starts mucking around in areas as personal as prayer, bad things can happen. Somehow the framers of our Constitution understood that, listened to the people and added the First Amendment to the Constitution.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercising thereof,” it said. Simple. Clear. Unambiguous.

It has guided us well for almost 250 years. The Florida Legislature should heed its words. And Gov. Rick Scott should veto this ill-considered effort to tinker.

Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O’Hara, Andrew Abramson, Elana Simms, Gary Stein and Editor-in-Chief Howard Saltz.