The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to rule in crucial cases affecting life and liberty.
From 2008 to 2015, high school football coach Joe Kennedy would bow his head at the 50-yard line after each game, thanking God for His providence during the game for all involved.
The Bremerton, Washington coach explained, “I was going to give God the glory after every game, win or lose,” he said.
In 2015, after many of his players and some from opposing teams began joining him, anti-prayer forces pressured the school to order him to stop. He declined, citing his First Amendment right to freedom of religion.
In Oct. 2015, the school placed the coach on paid administrative leave and did not re-sign him when his contract ended. His attorneys at First Liberty Institute argue in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District that banning coaches from quietly praying just because they can be seen by the public violates the Constitution.
On Monday, April 25, the U.S. Supreme Court was to hear the case. Americans United for Separation of Church and State is representing the Bremerton School District.
In another critically important case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,the Court heard oral arguments on December 1, 2021 over a challenge to Mississippi’s ban on late-term abortions (after 15 weeks). The outcome could result in overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that created a federal right to abortion, striking down pro-life laws in all 50 states.
The Court is expected to rule on these cases near the end of its term in June. Rightly or wrongly, how the Court decides them may well determine whether the United States can return to First Principles or drift further from them.
Mat Staver is the author of “Faith & Freedom: A Complete Handbook for Defending Your Religious Rights.”
Mat Staver serves as senior pastor, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel.
He also chairs Liberty Counsel Action, Christians in Defense of Israel, Freedom Federation, Salt & Light Council, and National House of Hope; and is founder and chairman of Liberty Relief International; vice president and chief counsel of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference-CONEL; director of the Hispanic Israel Leadership Coalition; former vice president of Liberty University; former dean and tenured professor of law at Liberty University School of Law; trustee of Timothy Plan, a New York and Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange-traded family of Biblically Responsible Investing mutual funds; trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society; member of the Board of Reference of the Christian Film and Television Commission; member of the Board of Advisors of Care for Pastors; founder and former president of Staver & Associates; and founder and former president of The Staver Group.
Mat has more than 230 published legal opinions. He authored eight scholarly law review publications, many booklets and brochures, hundreds of articles and numerous books, including “Why Israel Matters,” “Faith & Freedom: A Complete Handbook for Defending Your Religious Rights,” “Same-Sex Marriage: Putting Every Household at Risk,” and “Eternal Vigilance: Knowing and Protecting Your Religious Freedom.”
Mat is the host and producer of “Faith and Freedom” podcast/radio program and the “Freedom’s Call” radio program. He’s a frequent guest on many international and national network and cable television and radio programs, and has been interviewed for thousands of print and electronic media sources.
Mat has filed numerous briefs and argued in many federal and state courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and has argued two landmark cases before that Court, Madsen v. Women’s Health Center and McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky.
Mat has a B.A., Theology, cum laude, Southern Missionary College; M.A., Religion, summa cum laude, Andrews University; J.D., University of Kentucky; LL.D., honoris causa, Liberty University; D.D., honoris causa, South Florida Bible College.
His wife, attorney Anita L. Staver, serves as president of Liberty Counsel.
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