District follows First Amendment with rules for LifeWise

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, December 23, 2025

The Herald has reported that Lifewise, a midday Bible education program, has sued the Everett School District for violating the First Amendment by implementing policies that hinder LifeWise’ constitutional rights (“LifeWise sues Everett district, alleging First Amendment violations,” The Herald, Dec. 19).

LifeWise believes that enforcing the separation of church and state somehow violates the First Amendment. But the opposite is true: maintaining that separation is the very mechanism by which the First Amendment is upheld.

The First Amendment contains two religion clauses: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. Together, they protect both freedom of religion and freedom from government‑imposed religion. Enforcing separation of church and state ensures the government does not endorse, fund or impose any faith. That is not hostility toward religion; it is neutrality. And neutrality is exactly what the Constitution requires.

When government stays out of religious matters, individuals and communities may worship — or not worship — according to their own conscience. Religious liberty thrives most when the state does not play favorites. The founders understood this well, which is why they rejected systems where political power and religious authority were intertwined.

Far from violating the First Amendment, enforcing separation of church and state protects the rights of every American — believers of all faiths and nonbelievers alike. It ensures that no citizen must rely on the government to validate their beliefs, and no citizen must fear that the government will impose someone else’s beliefs upon them.

LifeWise doesn’t understand this, so I hope the Everett School District will defend their lawsuit by making these important points known to them.

Gregory Hauth

Everett