Minersville School District v. Gobitis
Minersville School District v. Gobitis was a significant Supreme Court case decided in 1940 concerning the intersection of religious freedom and mandated patriotic expressions in public schools. The case originated when two children from Jehovah's Witnesses families were expelled from school in Pennsylvania for refusing to salute the American flag, citing their religious beliefs. Their parents sought an exemption based on the First Amendment's free exercise clause, but the federal district court ruled against them. Ultimately, the Supreme Court upheld the school district's requirement for flag salutes by an eight-to-one vote, asserting that the obligation to salute the flag did not infringe upon religious freedoms. This ruling sparked substantial public backlash, with many newspapers and citizens expressing strong opposition to the decision. Notably, some justices who initially voted against the Jehovah's Witnesses later expressed regret and a willingness to reconsider their stance. The controversy surrounding this case was pivotal, leading to a reversal of the decision in the subsequent case of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette in 1943, which upheld the right to abstain from flag saluting on religious grounds.
Minersville School District v. Gobitis
Date: June 3, 1940
Citation: 310 U.S. 586
Issues: Freedom of religion; freedom of speech
Significance: In this case, the Supreme Court upheld a compulsory flag salute, but the ruling was overturned in a very short time because some justices in the original decision changed their minds.
Numerous states required compulsory flag salutes at the beginning of every school day. In Pennsylvania in 1936, two young Jehovah’s Witnesses were expelled from school for refusing to salute the flag. Their parents politely sought an exemption but were refused. They sued in federal district court on free exercise of religion grounds but were turned down by the court. The Supreme Court, by a vote of eight to one, ruled that religious freedom did not exempt people from otherwise valid laws and governmentally imposed political obligations. Justice Harlan Fiske Stone dissented.
Although one might expect that patriotic sentiment would lead Americans to support the Supreme Court, amazingly, there was a broad and profound negative reaction to the ruling. Newspapers and journals strongly opposed the Court’s decision. In one of the more unusual happenings in Court history, some justices who had voted against the Jehovah’s Witnesses announced in open court that they had been wrong and were prepared to change their minds if they were given another opportunity. The Court reversed itself three years later in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943).