today, the fast, reliable internet connection is something people cannot live without. wow is therefore our customers. it all starts with great internet. wow. >> wow supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> tuesday morning, you can start calling in now. we are talking in this first hour about the case yesterday, kennedy v bremerton school district. here is how robert barnes put it yesterday after the justices handed down their decision. the supreme court ruled monday a school board in washington state -- justice neil gorsuch wrote the majority opinion saying that the

haskell assistant coach's prayers are protected by the constitution's given to free speech and religious exercise. he said the school board discipline of kennedy was unwarranted, even under the concern of violating the separation of church and state. in that majority opinion, here are some of justice neil gorsuch's words from the case. respect for religious expression, he said, is indispensable. the life in a free and diverse republic where those exceptions take place weather in a cemetery or on a field and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a head. to punish an individual for engaging in a brief, private religious experience doubly protected by the free exercise and free exercise and free-speech causes of the first amendment. the government offered for its reprisals a mistaken view that it had a duty to ferret out religious disturbances.

the constitution he said neither mandates nor tolerates the kind of discrimination. that was the majority opinion yesterday. the response from coach kennedy and his lawyers from the first liberty institute to represent the case. that released a video after the decision was handed down yesterday. >> just got the big news from the u.s. supreme court that you one, man. you won. [laughter] >> yeah, i got nothing. >> i have known you for years. this is the first time i have ever seen you speechless. >> i wish i had something to say, but just like our football games come every time we scored or won a game, that was it. >> you said just a second ago that this is not really happening. i don't mean to pick on you, but you lost and you lost and you lost and you lost and you lost, but then -- >> did you do five?

>> i think i left one out. [laughter] >> but all that matters is the final scoring today. you won. congratulations. >> thank you. >> with us as an attorney that has been with you since the beginning, the night he got fired. tell us what you see in that opinion today, just headlines. >> well, it is an amazing decision to win on the clause, the free-speech caused, to get the court to say we don't have to go back down and do a bunch of fact-finding again or whatever. we have done all that. we just get some re-judgment entered. that is a big deal. the goal has been to get coach back on the field. it looks like a pretty good football season coming up. i think this is the ultimate thing we have to get accomplished for the rest of the case, getting back on the field in september. >> to be clear so people

understand, the only thing that we ever asked for was for you to be able to get back on that field, right? >> that was it. now it is like i have always done, just be able to enjoy the freedoms of america. now everyone else can. a cool thing. host: coach kennedy there in the wake of that ruling yesterday. here is one of the takes from the millennial focused new site mike.com. their headline in the wake of that decision, the supreme court has a clear agenda. christian theocracy across more than one ruling this term. the conservative justices have prioritized christian exception above all else. we are asking you this morning your thoughts on the role of religion in public life in america. if you think it is too much -- do you think it is too much, not enough, or about right? the phone lines for all of those answers, the numbers are on the screen. we have a call from rhode island. carl things it is not enough.

why? caller: hi. i am calling. it is not enough because if you take a look, i am over 70 years old, and how this country has evolved. when i was growing up, everything was easy, free, and kind. now we have two polar opposites that are extreme and there is virtually no possibility of compromise. what worries me is what the next step is going to be. i won't be around to see it. it is very possible, people believe it, that we are headed to a second civil war. host: do you think there is a place for compromise on the separation of church and state for those who feel like religion is having too much influence on public life and those who think it is not enough? caller: it has always been the

view. that is why prayer hasn't gone anywhere except for that breakthrough decision yesterday by those catholics on the united states supreme court. you know, it is funny. you look every time, a lot of people don't know that the jewish people support abortion. a lot of people don't know that, but they know it now. very sad. very, very sad. that is why those two justices, they vote for killing the unborn. very sad. host: stephen in lexington, kentucky, saying religion has too much influence on public life. where do you see it, stephen? caller: yes, good morning. yes. john, i am a big fan of you. love when you moderate. yes. religion has way too much power

in the united states, especially commercial christianity. the amount of churches out there that do not get taxed but put all of their oppression on the american public is outrageous. they dictate the way we live our lives. they dictate what we should do with ourselves, what we can do with ourselves. in general, way too much power. and it is ridiculous because a lot of us are not like that. there are actually a lot people that are not religious around this country and want to see it flourish, but religion is holding it down. and it has way too much power and influence in the way we live our lives. host: with the group, americans united of separation of church and state, have you heard of their worked? caller: no, but it sound like i should find out what they do. what do they do? host: a group that has some of

these very concerns you have talked about and have been closely watching this case. this is the statement that group and ever yesterday in the wake of the kennedy decision, saying this decision represents the greatest loss of religious freedom in our country in generations. the court focused only on the demands of far right christian extremists, robbing everyone else of their religious freedoms. it ignored the religious freedom of students and families as a network of religious extremists and their allies celebrate the victory. expanding this dangerous precedent. americans that value freedom and equality especially for public school students must rededicate themselves to reestablishing the separation of church and state across the united states. that is in the group americans united for the separation of church and state if you want to check them out. that is the website on the screen. this is daniel out of

washington, spokane. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. i believe that america is in decline and has been for quite some time, ever since we started to extract ourselves from the beliefs of the scriptures. in the scriptures, it says blessed is a nation whose lord is god, whose god is the lord. and cursed is the nation who rejects him. we are in a lot of trouble. the decline of this country is obvious to all of those who have a perceptive ability -- a perceptive ability.

so i am grateful for the supreme court in all of their decisions. and i am hopeful this nation will turn again back to the god who created us and who loves us and forgives us of our sins. host: daniel, do you think we will be seeing a lot more prayer in public schools in the wake of this decision? caller: i hope so. these schools are one of the biggest areas that have gone into decline. we are 37th in the world now. it is not sustainable for our economy and for our country to be that far down the list of achievement. it is ridiculous. if you teach your kids you are nothing more than an animal, well, don't be surprised if they start acting like animals. host: daniel out of washington this morning. "new york times" with a look back on how the supreme court has treated the issue of prayer in schools in the past six

decades. over the last 60 years, this up in court has rejected prayer in public schools at least when it was officially required or part of a formal ceremony, like a high school graduation. as recently as 2000, the court ruled that organized prayer is led by students at high school football games violated the first amendment's prohibition of establishment of religion. the delivery of a pregame prayer has the improper effect of coercing those present to participate in an active religious worship. that was justice john paul stevens writing for the majority back in 2000 in that case. more from the words of neil gorsuch, writing for the majority yesterday, saying respect for religious expression is indefensible. whether those expressions take place in this actuary or on a field, whether they manifest in the spoken word or about head. that line of the ruling getting

quoted quite a bit in the wake of it being handed down yesterday. this is fran in wisconsin. good morning. caller: good morning. good morning, john. just one of the things i wanted to say you said in the statement, the separation of church and state. our founding fathers knew there was really reason for separation of church and state. and until the event helical's realized that the evangelicals realized political power, that is when things started getting bad. there is a place for religion. in your home and in your church. not in politics and not being shoved down everyone else's throat. we have freedom of religion in this country. people have a right to their own beliefs. what happened in the supreme court, what happened with the republicans is one of the consequences of having religion

shoved down people's throat in a democracy. host: having a coach neil after a game and pray silently on a 50 yard line, is that shoving religion down people's throats? this was kind of the heart of this case. it was a reading of the first amendment. caller: yes. yeah. like i said, john, there is a place for religion. there is a place for religion. it is not -- you can go to church. you can send your kids to church schools and stuff. that is ok. but don't be shoving it down people's throats. everybody has a right to their own beliefs. and what is happening in this country now is one of the consequences of having religion shoved down other people's throats. i just think it is disgusting that people cannot keep their religious beliefs to themselves. it is one of those personal individual choices and should remain that way. host: the heart of this case

surrounding whether this idea, this act of praying on a 50 yard line, whether it was establishing a religion or moving in that direction or exercising the free expression of religion. and it centered around that first -- those first three sections of the first amendment, which read congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the three exercise -- free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech. in this case, focusing on the justices deciding on the free exercise and freedom of speech although sections of the first amendment when they made the ruling yesterday. 6-3 ruling led by the conservative majority. asking you this morning in the wake of that ruling about the role of religion in public life. do you think it is too much? do you think it is not enough? do you think it is about right? joel in new york, what do you think? caller: good morning. good morning.

i think schools have found a pretty decent balance. you know, they do a moment of silence before the pledge of allegiance. that the more personal. i disagree with the supreme court decision just because you have the moment of silence before the pledge of allegiance but it is a lot different from a teacher leading a class in prayer, which i kind of think what the coach did. just to piggyback on some of the other callers, i agree religion is important. but with their opinion change if the coach rolled out a prayer rug and did a muslim type prayer? it seems like the christian conservatives, they just look at one side of prayer. it kind of set the precedent. where is this going to go from here? go ahead. i'm sorry. host: here is some background for those on how this sort of

developed into a supreme court case and one of the final five rulings of this very important term of the supreme court. this from "the wall street journal." students occasionally joined mr. kennedy after games. this is going back to the 20 teams, about tony 15. he never directed them to do some of the scope and support testified in cases leading up to this that a parent complained that his son felt compelled to purchase part. student, an atheist, took part in the ritual because he felt he would not get to play as much if he did not participate in those prayers. caller: yeah. i would have to agree with that. as i could playing sports, i would kind of feel obligated. if the coaches praying, you know. yeah. i don't know. i just inc. it is different as a teacher or coach or leader to do that. i know it is after the game, but then again it is on the 50 yard line.

the pictures, there are quite a few players around him. you could choose to go back in the locker room and do it. you could choose -- i don't know, it seems more orchestrated instead of just having a simple moment of silence or, you know, being by himself. he can do it in his office if you wanted to. i just think it would be different. if he was muslim, i just have a feeling the rule would be different but that is my gut feeling. abi could be wrong on that. host: more on the timeline here. the coach was placed on administered aleve 2015 from that job. it is a public school near seattle. the ninth circuit ruled he was acting as a public employee when he offered the prayers so his actions were not protected by the first amendment. the high court yesterday though

rejecting that argument. trish, seattle, good morning. you are next. have you heard about this case in seattle? caller: i'm sorry? host: had you heard about the case in washington? caller: oh yes. i get the seattle paper every day so i could not miss it. my sister actually lives in bremerton. we had a discussion about yesterday as a matter of fact. that was the first start of our day and we were both crushed. we both grew up going to catholic schools. we both know longer believe in that. i just winter, like the gentleman said before, if that wasn't islam -- was an islamic prayer out on the field or another religion, witchcraft, whatever, how would that stand? it wouldn't because we have six justices that think that their

way, they're white christian way -- their white christian way is the only way that can be done. i have no further faith in the supreme court. i will never again stand up for the pledge of allegiance. and i will never again stand up when they sing the national anthem because i think this country has gone back so, so far that it wants to be england or something and i don't know that is a great show these days either. so no, i am totally -- everything the supreme court has done and will try to do, and trust me they will, has just eroded all of the democracy that we have worked so hard all of these years. for those people that died for this country. host: do you have kids in public schools? caller: note.

but my nieces and nephews were in public schools. my other nephews were raised in catholic schools. and i would not -- i just think this is -- you want to pray, that is personal tribute you do that on your time, but don't make a bunch of kids do that. you don't know what they are feeling about god, how they were raised. i think it is a huge assumption for some coach, some two bit coach i am saying in bremerton, really. host: he argued and his lawyers argued he did not make any kids do this. caller: no. ok. so with that being said, how many people stand up for the national anthem but they don't feel like it because they don't believe what is going on in this country? and for the first time, i felt like i did not want to stand up. many times, even when i was in

high school back in the 1970's. i thought it was a bunch of phooey. i did not want to stand up, but you had to. it was coercion. i went to a mariners game, and for the first time ever, i felt i had the power. i had the power that i did not want to stand up. no, i am not believing in what this country is doing. it was liberating. so, no. this country is going down the hill. there is nothing. you want white religious people running the show? that is what you got to get it is a pretty sad story. host: that is trish in washington this morning. duncan in florida is next on the line for those that say religion does not have enough influence on this country these days. why?

? duncan, you with us? caller: thank you. that coaches will protected by the first amendment. as a catholic, i know very well that religion has too many influence today, if anything at all. yes, the coach was very much protected by the first amendment. like the woman who was just on before me, most other people out there are too naive of the situation. host: duncan, you said you went to mass this morning. any mention? caller: that is all there is to it. host: was there any mention at mass this morning about this case or the other supreme court case we have been talking so much about, the robe -- the roe v. wade, overturning roe v. wade? caller: no, i have not gone to mass yet. host: did you go sunday?

did they mention the abortion case sunday? caller: oh. items to create against abortion. yes. i think of it as homicides. yes. host: this is david out of san francisco. good morning. you are next. caller: morning. i kind of appreciate that previous woman's call, although i would urge her not to abandon america. it seems to be just a clear case of merchants in the temple. it could be merchants in the church temple or it could be merchants in the temple of justice. but either way, that coach got an agent, and the agent decided to cash in. and part of the cashing in are the coke brothers, want to throw away america for the company store economy. i was going to call originally on this theme that tax policy is

being changed by these church phonies because because they want us to spend our taxes on unprovable budgets. i want my budget, you know, whether it is roads, bridges, fresh water, clean air, safety, hundreds and hundreds of different budget items are being threatened by some phonies who come across with a holier than thou attitude that it is ok to post in the rivers because god and the angels come and clean it up. i want tax dollars to be spent with provable budgets. looking at how much money got spent by that school district to pay for this coach and his agents' phony case. one last thing. i am wondering if this case got filed under betsy devos' term.

because if i remember right, she comes from amway. amway as a company was considered somewhat of a cult. if betsy devos' family made a vast fortune on amway creating a cult and now they want to rip apart our schools with bad law, that kind of smacks more to what the real threat is here. host: the coach fired in 2015. this going back to the early 20 teens as well. and making its way through the various court processes, several cases before of course reaching the supreme court and the decision coming down yesterday. i will look for a more exact timeline for you as we hear from connie in highland, california. good morning. you are next. caller: good morning, john. that lady that said shoving this

and that down our throats, no. that coach was not shoving it into his players to come and deal with me. he was not turning to the audience, come and kneel with me. all he did was he was happy and that was his freedom to kneel down and thank god. if i am out in public, i do the sign of the cross. that is my freedom to do it. is somebody going to come and say you are not supposed to do that in public? that is not right. no. to me, everybody should have the freedom to do what they want because that is their right. this is the united states of america. like i said, he was not telling his players to do that. he was just happy that they had won. to me, that is what counts. host: the timing on this, the preliminary injunction in the original case here, september of

2016. that of course before the 2016 election. some more response within the past one to four hours of what this case does mean and doesn't mean. this is the wall street journal editorial board today, writing that the significance of this case is the supreme court is gradually restoring a proper constitutional understanding of the relationship between religion and the sta >> the committee is getting ready for today's meeting. the chair announce further hearings would be postponed until july. according to some reports, the committee will be hearing from cassidy hutchinson, an aide to former president trump's chief of staff, mark enos. and was in the west wing when the attack on the capital was happening. mr. meadows has refused to appear before the committee. several clips of hutchinson testifying before the committee

has been shown at previous hearings. today, the committee will hear from her in person. all c-span programming is brought to you as a public service by the cable industry. and, these television companies, including charter communications, cox and verizon communications. expecting the hearing to get started in 15 minutes or so, 1:00 p.m. eastern time. >> [indiscernible conversations]

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>> you are watching life span coverage as we await the start of today's generous sixth committee hearing. they are meeting today, something of a surprise since the chairman announced last week that further hearings would be owned -- postponed until next week. today, members hearing from cassidy hutchinson in person, even though several clips of her testimony have been exhibited in previous hearings. if you need to step away from tv

, download c-span now, our free video app. congress speeches and campaign events available on the go with c-span now, available wherever you get your apps.

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