12/10/2025
The latest lawsuit over the “Spirit Rock” at a Charlotte high school is a textbook example of how reactionary figures and their supporters manufacture outrage to push Christian nationalist agendas into public institutions. The case began when a student painted a tribute to Kirk on the school’s spirit rock, including Bible verses, which administrators quickly removed under rules prohibiting political and religious messaging. Rather than treating this as a straightforward policy enforcement, the lawsuit escalates the matter by claiming violations of the student’s constitutional rights under the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The irony is hard to miss: Kirk has built his brand on mocking “snowflakes” and railing against cancel culture, yet his allies are now demanding special treatment for religious expression in a taxpayer‑funded space. Backed by Alliance Defending Freedom—a group notorious for trying to erode the separation of church and state—the lawsuit is less about free speech and more about testing how far the courts will bend to privilege religious messaging over secular inclusivity. For atheists and progressives, this case is a reminder that Kirk’s legacy is not dialogue or democracy, but division and control.
It argues that the CMS school board and its officials censored the student’s speech that the First Amendment protects.
