BECKLEY W.Va. (WVDN) – When Marie and Gathie Barnett were expelled from their West Virginia elementary school for refusing to salute the flag, little did they know how their brave actions would make history.
In 1942, the West Virginia Board of Education required public schools to make saluting the flag a mandatory activity for students and teachers. Students who refused to participate, like the Barnett children, were expelled.
June 14 marks the 81st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, a landmark ruling that found compulsory flag salute policies in public schools to be an unconstitutional violation of freedom of speech and religion.
The case was brought forth in 1942 by Walter Barnett (whose name was misspelled by the courts), one of Jehovah’s Witnesses from West Virginia after his two children were expelled from school for refusing to salute the flag based on their religious beliefs.
“The Barnette decision was not only a victory for Jehovah’s Witnesses but for all Americans, as it expanded the interpretation of First Amendment protections,” said Phillip Sanders, local spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that saluting the flag amounts to an act of worship, or idolatry, which is prohibited in the Bible. The Barnett children held to their convictions.
The Court ruled that if the expression of religious beliefs poses no imminent danger, the Constitution does not permit the coercion of citizens into making patriotic expressions, such as saluting the flag or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
In the now-famous majority opinion, written by Justice Robert H. Jackson, the Court stated, “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.
“We think the action of the local authorities in compelling the flag salute and pledge transcends constitutional limitations on their power and invades the sphere of intellect and spirit which it is the purpose of the First Amendment to our Constitution to reserve from all official control.”
Eighty-one years later, the legacy of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette continues to reverberate throughout American life.
“The case has become a part of our nation’s civic pride, that in public schools every child has the right to believe and practice the ideas or faith that they choose,” states the Robert H. Jackson Center.
“Although we do not salute the flag of any nation, we do show respect to the flag of the country we live in and abide by that country’s laws,” said Phillip Sanders. “We are happy that the Court ruled reasonably in this landmark case.”
To learn more about why Jehovah’s Witnesses abstain from nationalistic displays, visit jw.org.
