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A Victory for Free Speech and Religious Freedom


A Victory for Free Speech and Religious Freedom
Bradley Johnson is a math teacher at Westview High School in the Poway Unified School District in San Diego. Prominently displayed in Mr. Johnson’s classroom is a banner that reads: “In God We Trust,” “One Nation Under God,” “God Bless America,” and “God Shed His Grace on Thee.” A second banner, which has been displayed in Mr. Johnson’s classroom for seventeen years, quotes an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence: “All Men Are Created Equal, They Are Endowed By Their Creator.”
In January 2007, Poway School District officials ordered Mr. Johnson to remove the banners because they “over-emphasized” God and “might make a Muslim student uncomfortable.” In response, Mr. Johnson, with help from the Thomas More Law Center, filed a federal lawsuit against the school district.
Last Friday, Federal District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez ruled that the Poway Unified School District violated Bradley Johnson’s constitutional rights when it ordered him to remove two patriotic banners from the walls of his classroom. The fact that school officials banned Johnson’s patriotic displays while permitting other teachers to display personal posters and banners promoting partisan political issues such as homosexual rights and environmental causes, including global warming, played a crucial role in the judge’s decision.
Other displays permitted by the district included a 35-40 foot string of Tibetan prayer flags with images of Buddha, a poster with the lyrics from John Lennon’s song “Imagine” which starts off, “Imagine there’s no heaven,” a poster with Hindu leader Mahatma Gandhi’s “7 Social Sins,” a poster of Muslim leader Malcolm X, and a poster of Buddhist leader Dalai Lama.
The 32-page opinion was strongly worded as Judge Benitez sternly criticized the Poway District’s aversion to mentioning God: “The school district officials apparently fear their students are incapable of dealing with diverse viewpoints that include God’s place in American history and culture. . . .that God places prominently in our Nation’s history does not create an Establishment Clause violation requiring curettage and disinfectant for Johnson’s public high school classroom walls. It is a matter of historical fact that our institutions and government actors have in past and present times given place to a supreme God.” 
Judge Benitez acknowledged that public schools should provide students with a healthy exposure to diverse ideas and opinions. He then ruled, “Fostering diversity, however, does not mean bleaching out historical religious expression or mainstream morality. By squelching only Johnson’s patriotic and religious classroom banners, while permitting other diverse religious and anti-religious classroom displays, the school district does a disservice to the students of Westview High School and the federal and state constitutions do not permit this one-sided censorship.”
Judge Benitez ordered the school district “to permit Johnson to immediately re-display, in his assigned classroom, the two banners at issue in this case.” Mr. Johnson returned the displays to his classroom that same day. 
Robert Muise, the Thomas More Law Center Senior Trial Counsel handling the case, stated, “Judge Benitez’s strong opinion sends a clear message to school districts across the country that hostility toward our Nation’s religious heritage is contrary to our constitution. Indeed, it was refreshing to read an opinion that does justice to our Nation’s history, rather than rewrite it.”
California Family Council (CFC) is in wholehearted agreement with Mr. Muise. CFC is dedicated to keeping you informed on issues regarding religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, the protection of traditional marriage and the authority of parents in the raising of their children. Please visit our website frequently for the latest news and information.
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