On June 1, the Catholic world quietly marked a powerful centennial: 100 years since Pierce v. Society of Sisters, the U.S. Supreme Court case that preserved the right of Catholic parents to educate their children in accordance with their faith. More than a legal milestone, Pierce stands as a moral and spiritual line in the sand—reminding us that “the child is not the mere creature of the state,” as Justice James Clark McReynolds famously wrote in the Court’s 1925 opinion.
This ruling struck down an Oregon amendment—backed by the Ku Klux Klan—that would have outlawed private education and forced all children into government-run schools. The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, who operated Catholic schools in Oregon, courageously challenged the law and secured a victory that would shape the future of Catholic education in America.
Now, a hundred years later, that legacy is under threat again.
Speaking at a recent event hosted by the Heritage Foundation, legal scholar Robert P. George explained the enduring relevance of Pierce: “The natural law-rooted conception of the relationship between child and parent … is deeply rooted in our nation’s constitutional order.” He warned that today’s culture wars—especially those targeting children—are repeating the very battles that Catholic educators and parents once fought and won.
George pointed specifically to Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case in which Catholic, Orthodox, and Muslim parents are suing the Montgomery County Board of Education for denying them the right to opt their young children out of radical gender curriculum. The reading materials in question are introduced as early as age three and promote views that directly contradict their religious beliefs. As George said, “These are not rights conferred by any merely human authority … They are natural rights.”
This isn’t just a political struggle—it’s a moral one. As Catholics, we believe parents are the first educators of their children, a truth affirmed by both Scripture and the Catechism. But today, that belief is being challenged in classrooms across the country. In the words of George, “It is in cases like Mahmoud that we see the real reason progressives are so keen for organized institutions of the state… to share, and eventually override… parental authority.”
Catholic Online School was founded in the same spirit that animated the Sisters of the Holy Names—a belief that Catholic education must be preserved, defended, and made accessible to every family, regardless of income or circumstance. As battles like Mahmoud continue, we offer a safe, faithful, and free educational environment where no parent has to fear what their child is being taught.
Pierce v. Society of Sisters may be 100 years old, but the fight it represents is far from over. As legal expert Eric Baxter noted at the Heritage Foundation event, “You have that very same dynamic here… many of the parents in the Mahmoud case are immigrants who came to the U.S. seeking freedom of religion, only to be told that [they] have to adopt this very extreme view [of transgender ideology].”
Let us remember that Catholic education is not just a right—it’s a duty. And like the Sisters of 1925, we must be ready to defend it with courage, conviction, and clarity. Catholic Online School stands ready to help every parent answer that call.
