Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti commented on a report that religious accommodations were made for students during the month of Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims.
During an interview with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, Skrmetti said, “So there are a number of potential avenues there. The basic civil rights laws that apply to education don’t cover religious discrimination. So there may be some other state laws we’ll find out but it fundamentally goes to the difference between the establishment clause and the free exercise clause.”
“Free exercise says the government can’t stop you from practicing your religion,” he explained, describing the difference between establishing a religion versus protecting the right to practice a religion. “The establishment clause as interpreted, and as we hear about every time the legislature tries to do anything these days, says that the state can’t – it says something different, but it’s been interpreted to mean the state can’t participate in promoting particular religious viewpoints.”
“So if the school is dedicating resources to something, that’s a very different situation than if the students are self-organizing,” Skrmetti noted.
Leahy drew attention to the “coercive element” behind the prayer. “I look at it as an attempt to propagandize and proselytize those other students. That’s my view.”
A recent report revealed that a public school in Nashville permitted students to leave class to pray and offered food-free zones in honor of Ramadan.
A school spokesperson clarified that the bell schedule was not changed, but that students were instead provided with religious accommodations. “Students were provided accommodations, as needed, during prayer times so they could briefly leave class. Similar accommodations would be considered for students of other faiths based on individual needs and circumstances,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to the Nashville Banner. “The activities referenced … were student-led and voluntary.”
