Notes on the Good News case

The Good News Club is "a private Christian organization for children ages 6 to 12" that provides a program for children designed to have "a fun time of singing songs, hearing a Bible lesson and memorizing scripture." p.1820 They were excluded from participation in the community group forum because the school district's policy prohibits use "by any individual or organization for religious purposes." Id.

Notice this program is a little like McCollum, but an after school program open to many private educational organizations. It is an after school forum for social, civic, recreational, and educational programs for children's "moral and character development."

Justice Stevens says there is a difference between religious speech that is protected by the Free Speech Clause and religious worship and religious proselytizing that are not protected. See p.1825

What is "worship" as distinguished from speech? Is singing a song of praise to God worship? May the Boy Scouts sing songs praising the doing of good deeds and love of country? May the Multicultural Club sing songs praising universal brotherhood and diversity? If so, then doesn't it amount to "viewpoint discrimination" for a school to permit clubs to sing secular songs of praise but to exclude the Good News Club because Good News clubbers sing religious songs of praise?

What is "proselytizing" and who is forbidden from doing it? May the Boy Scouts attempt to persuade ("proselytize") its clubbers to become kind, and clean, and patriotic? May the Multicultural Club proselytize about the moral good of diversity and tolerance? Then doesn't it amount to viewpoint discrimination for a public school to permit proselytizing of secular ideas, values and beliefs, but not religious ideas, values and beliefs?

As Justice Scalia puts it: "A priest has as much liberty to proselytize as a patriot."

What are your thoughts about this little debate between Scalia and Stevens?

Notice that Justice Thomas, in  his majority opinion, provides the test before the Court: When the state establishes a limited public forum, the State is not required to and does not allow persons to engage in every type of speech. The State may be justified 'in reserving [its forum] for certain groups or for the discussion of certain topics.' The State however must not discriminate against speech on the basis of viewpoint and the restriction must be reasonable in light of the purpose of the forum."

So, was the exclusion of religious groups that promote the moral and character development of children a viewpoint based exclusion?

The Court says yes (p. 1822) because the school district excluded the Good News Club because it approched moral and character development "from a religious viewpoint."