Beginning in the mid-1960's, God was squeezed out of the public schools, and the
impact on the schools — and on American culture — has been obvious. Now it is
practically illegal to discuss Christianity in a public school, just as it is in
communist countries. But apparently it's okay to spend all day studying Islam,
witchcraft or humanism.
You may be particularly interested in the situation facing
John Freshwater.
Even more outrageous is the case of
Marcus Borden.
Most of the material about Islam in school has been moved
to this page.
Please note that the material about ACLU interference in education has been moved
here.
There is also a page
about Anti-Christian Bias in American Society.
Court OKs barring religious
tunes at graduation. A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday [9/8/2009] upheld a school district's refusal
to let a band play a religious piece at a high school graduation, saying the superintendent had reasonably decided to avoid
a constitutional controversy by ordering a secular program.
Cheerleaders'
religious signs draw fire. Community members are rallying around Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High
School cheerleaders after they were banned from displaying signs with Bible verses urging fans and players to
"commit to the Lord" and "take courage and do it." The banners — the paper ones that
football players crash through at the beginning of games — have been common sights in the
school's football stadium since 2003, local officials say.
Schoolhouse Shariah. California's
educrats have put out new rules for teaching Islamic studies to seventh-graders in public schools, and they are as biased as
ever. They'll also likely spread eastward. The lesson guidelines adopted by the bellwether state whitewash the
violence and oppression of women codified in Islamic law, or Shariah. And they're loaded with revisionist history
about the faith.
Religious
Liberty Stops at the Schoolhouse Door. In public school classrooms across the country, religious
liberty is under assault. Last month in Florida, two Christian student leaders at Pace High School were
barred from speaking at their graduation ceremony due to fears they might mention their faith in violation of a
court order stemming from an anti-religious lawsuit filed by the ACLU. ... In Pennsylvania, the 3rd U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals has upheld an order banning Donna Kay Busch from reading passages from her son Wesley's favorite
book — the Bible — as part of his show-and-tell presentation. And in Texas, the
Chairman of the State School Board was recently ousted when the Senate decided that his kooky creationist
beliefs constituted a tangible threat to young minds everywhere.
Illinois Moment of Silence Ruled
Unconstitutional. A federal judge has ruled that a state law requiring a moment of silence in
public schools across Illinois is unconstitutional, saying it crosses the line separating church and state.
"The statute is a subtle effort to force students at impressionable ages to contemplate religion," U.S. District
Judge Robert W. Gettleman said in his ruling Wednesday. ... Adam Schwartz, senior staff counsel of the
American Civil Liberties Union, said the organization was pleased with the decision "to strike down a statewide
law that coerced children to pray as part of an organized activity in our public schools."
The Editor says...
Since when is silence considered a religion?
The
atheist indoctrination project: It seems atheists have developed a comprehensive strategy to win
the minds of the next generation. The strategy can be described simply: let the religious people
breed them, and we will educate them to despise their parents' beliefs. Many people think that the secularization
of the minds of our young people is the inevitable consequence of learning and maturing. In fact, it is
to a large degree orchestrated by teachers and professors to promote anti-religious agendas.
Liberal
Censorship and Its Roots: [Scroll down slowly] I believe this arrogant attitude can
largely be traced to the top-down indoctrination in our schools, cultural institutions and media that
liberalism is morally superior because it is tolerant, diverse, intellectual and enlightened. This
view holds that conservative expression doesn't deserve constitutional protection because it is inherently
evil. As one liberal academic administrator said in justifying his Draconian action in suppressing a
Christian viewpoint, "We cannot tolerate the intolerable."
Freedom
to be illiterate: The Song of Solomon and the Sermon on the Mount, which
have inspired creative genius for centuries, are denied to students in public high
schools because the faiths from which they spring continue to thrive.
Rutherford Institute Issues
Guidelines for Graduation Commencements. The Rutherford Institute has issued guidelines for
constitutionally permissible ways to incorporate prayer and religious expression into graduation ceremonies
without violating the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as certain practices that
should be avoided.
ACLU Cannot Force School Districts to
Censor Graduations. The graduating seniors at the six high schools in the Ouachita Parish School
District voted to have a fellow student give a message during this week's graduation ceremonies. Up in
arms over the possibility the students will include religious themes or prayer at graduation, the ACLU issued
a letter accusing the district of "trying to do an end-run around the Constitution with the so-called
student-led prayers." The ACLU wants the district to censor prayer and religious messages from
graduation, even if presented by students.
Schools May Answer in Court for Censoring
Students' Christian Messages. A Christian attorney says a Colorado high school was wrong to
withhold a valedictorian's diploma because her commencement speech encouraged people to learn about Jesus Christ.
School officials reverse
earlier decision; now will run yearbook ad that mentions 'God'. Officials at one California
public high school will pay thousands of dollars in printing costs to restore religious references to a
yearbook ad after parents complained their rights were violated.
Forward
this Column or Get Stuck on Stupid. If your kid comes home from college one day and tells you that
your Christian faith is stupid, welcome to the world in which I live. The college environment does that
to our kids. It makes good Christian students stupid. By that I mean it turns them into liberals,
atheists, or both.
Coach loses job amid Muslim-Christian
concerns. A high school principal in Dearborn, Mich., has dismissed a longtime wrestling coach after
complaints from Muslim parents that the coach's former assistant — an evangelical Christian pastor —
was trying to convert Muslim students into Christians. … Imad Fadlallah, head of Fordson High School, decided this
month not to renew the contract of Marszalek, who has coached wrestling at Fordson for 35 years.
Christians
Under Attack by Government School Bureaucrats. Oak Lawn, Illinois, school kids are going to have
to do without Halloween, Christmas and Easter activities thanks to the sensitive bureaucrats who fear offending
Muslims. The schools' administrators claim they've received a number complaints that the activities are
offensive, particularly to Muslim students. … Observers say they expect that this latest announcement is
going to increase the tension that has been building since school officials agreed at the start of the school
year to adjust the students' lunch menu to exclude items containing pork to accommodate the Muslim students.
Mention God? Don't
you dare. Brittany McComb, valedictorian of Foothill High School in Clark County, Nevada,
stood up at her graduation and began to speak. A few paragraphs into her speech, school administrators
cut off McComb's microphone. She didn't tell a dirty joke. She didn't curse. She didn't
insult her classmates or her teachers. Brittany McComb committed the egregious sin of attempting to
thank God and Jesus.
Christ at
Commencement. The most active force in suppressing speech at high school
graduation ceremonies is the ACLU.
Did
someone mention the ACLU?
Muslim student, ACLU fight graduation
prayer. 17-year-old: 'Terms like Jesus Christ, heavenly father … were
offensive to me'.
Virginia High School
Forbids Pictures of People Praying. A Yorktown, Virginia, public high school is facing
a federal lawsuit after stripping Christian-themed posters off a teacher's wall. The school plans
to argue that the posters are inappropriate because they portray presidents George Washington and
George W. Bush in prayer.
School
flap over 'prayer', PA system leads to lawsuit. The Alliance Defense Fund is
suing the Deer Valley Unified School District for not allowing a Christian student group to
use the school's PA system. Mountain Ridge High School's Common Cause Club wanted to
invited students to a prayer meeting after school.
Veteran teacher sues employer
over prohibition of 'Judeo-Christian' banners. A Christian teacher is suing a San Diego school
district he has taught in for three decades, accusing it of purging classrooms of the country's religious
heritage and history. The district ordered the teacher to remove banners from his classroom walls that
included mottos and slogans promoting what school officials consider a "Judeo-Christian" viewpoint.
Child's 'Jesus' drawing crux
of federal lawsuit. All Antonio Peck wanted to do was to show that his faith in Jesus played a
part in his concern for the environment. But the poster he drew caught the attention of school officials,
who decided that the "Jesus" half of the poster needed to be folded under before it went on display.
The Rights of Religious
Student Groups in Public Schools. As students across the country return to the classroom, they
will encounter a social climate that continues to become more tolerant toward various "alternative
lifestyles." At times, however, it seems that mainstream America has become more tolerant toward every
social group except Christians who are vocal about their faith. In a wide array of contexts, including
the public school system, the rights of Christians to verbalize their faith in the public arena have been
under attack.
The Legality of using the Bible in school
curriculum: When some people are trying to completely remove the Bible from schools, students'
rights are being violated. Textbook publishers are censoring history when they give us misrepresented
versions, empty of religion. Chief Justice Warren Berger said that the Constitution does not require
complete separation of church and state. It mandates accommodation, not merely tolerance of all
religions and forbids hostility toward any.
5-year old censored by NY school will get
his day in court. 5-year old Antonio Peck had no idea when he turned in his homework
assignment — a poster about protecting the environment — that it would land
him in federal court. … It featured, among other things, a cut out picture of
Jesus — something he reportedly thought applicable to the environment,
and the assignment.
Kindergarten
Teacher Censors Child. A kindergartener was rebuffed in front of the class as
the girl read from a Christian book. It was the child's turn to be "star of the
week." … About half way through this sharing time, the instructor interrupted
the child and told the girl she needed to read her other book because pupils weren't
allowed to read books about God in class.
Lawyer
wants Jesus off school wall. An American Civil Liberties Union lawyer has asked a West
Virginia high school to remove a picture of Jesus Christ that has hung at the school for
40 years.
Plano School District Votes to
Settle Christian Club's Discrimination Suit. As part of an effort to settle a
discrimination lawsuit, a Dallas-area public school district has decided to stop discriminating against
a student-led Christian club.
Schools are
distorting Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday,
a time to reflect on the many blessings bestowed on this great nation while enjoying the
company of family and friends. It's hard to imagine that anyone could consider the
celebration controversial or feel the need to censor Thanksgiving discussions among
schoolchildren. But when it comes to political correctness, no holiday is safe.
Rant and
chant: No one at the public university objected to the class ending
with incense, candles, and prayers. After all, these weren't Christian prayers.
Stealing
Black History: Deleting God from the black experience in
America is cutting the heart out of a people's story.
4th-graders
to "celebrate" the dead: Kids will put together an altar and bring in photos
of deceased relatives and pets.
Update:
District
sued over "Day of the Dead": The United States
Justice Foundation argues in a lawsuit that McNear Elementary
and the Petaluma City School District are violating the Establishment
Clause of the First Amendment by promoting religion.
College
Sued for Bias Against Men, Religion.
Lawsuit Challenges NJ Schools' Christmas Music
Ban. A New Jersey school system has been sued over its ban on traditional Christmas music. The
Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a parent and his two
children, challenging the Maplewood Public School District's prohibition of all religious music. The lawsuit
contends that the district's policy was implemented to prevent students and student groups from playing traditional
Christmas music at school events during the 2004 holiday season.
Liberals' efforts to purge "Christmas"
have backfired. This is nothing to do with Christianity. "A Christmas Carol" is a secular
work — there's no more God or Jesus in it than there is in "White Christmas." And, if works
of music that reference God are banned from schools, that cuts out a big chunk of the aural glories of this
world, including the best of Bach and Mozart. Forbidding children from being exposed to Handel and
Dickens is an act of vandalism and, in the end, will eliminate any rationale for a public education system.
ACLJ's Position on
Education: Perhaps more than in any other arena, Christians find that their
values and beliefs are under continual attack in the nation's public schools. Although
there are exceptions throughout the country, as a rule, the public educational establishment
increasingly embraces liberal ideology and secularism, sometimes to the point of hostility
against religion, particularly Christianity.
Can the Bible be
Used as Part of the Curriculum of the School? Yes! In Stone v.
Graham [449 U.S. 39 (1980)], the Supreme Court said, "the Bible may constitutionally
be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion,
or the like."
School Rebuked for Barring Anti-Sodomy
Clergy from Event. A Michigan high school is paying a high price for censoring a Catholic
student's views against homosexuality during the school's annual "Diversity Week" program. Last
December, Judge Gerald Rosen ruled that Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor violated the United States
Constitution's establishment clause by holding a one-sided forum on "Homosexuality and Religion" that only
included pro-homosexual clergy members. The school rejected student Betsy Hansen's request to
include a panel member who would express her Roman Catholic views against homosexuality.
School District Contends
State Law Requires It To Discriminate Against Religious Groups. California
state law requires that public school facilities be open to the public for
after-school use. Although the District complies with this law, it established a
discriminatory usage fee in which religious groups are charged but secular groups
are not. The District Policy forbids free use of school facilities for "services
and events conducted by religious groups."
District censures worker for
"prayer e-mail": An e-mail that passed along President Bush's proclamation of the National
Day of Prayer got a Dallas public school employee in trouble with her supervisors, according to a federal
lawsuit filed yesterday by the public interest firm American Center for Law and Justice.
"Easter" dropped from food
drive: A high school volunteer food drive that was forced to change its name wrapped up yesterday
[3/18/2002] before one student succeeded in his goal of resurrecting its proposed title:
"Easter Canned Drive."
Critics sue N.M.
school district over sculpture featuring crosses. The Las Cruces public
school district is being sued over a sculpture at a sports complex that includes
three crosses.
Squelching of Campus Christian
Club Spawns Lawsuit Against UNC-Chapel Hill. The University of North Carolina-Chapel
Hill is being sued over its decision to deny recognition to a Christian student club because members
refused to sign a "diversity" clause.
Mom Sues
After Bible Reading Barred at Her Child's School. Last October,
Donna Busch was invited to visit her son Wesley's kindergarten class in Philadelphia
and to take part in "Me Week." As the featured student of the week, Wesley
was allowed to choose his favorite book and have his mother read an excerpt from it aloud
to the class at Culbertson Elementary. But when Wesley chose the Bible as his
preferred book, his mother was barred from reading a passage from Psalm 118
because of its religious content.
Recess
not time for Bible study, schools attorney says. Students may not read
their Bibles during recess, according to an attorney for the Knox County public school
system in Tennessee. So why then did this only become an issue when several students
asked to hold a recess-time Bible study?
School administrator
to student: "Leave your faith in the car". A federal civil rights lawsuit
charges that the Poway Unified School District violated the constitutional rights of a student
and censored his free speech. The school district threatened further punishment and
suspended the student for expressing his religious faith on a T-shirt during a school day
designated to promote homosexual behavior. A school administrator told the student
to "leave his faith in the car" when his faith might offend others.
Schools Scrap Religious
Holidays. After weeks of delay and debate, the Hillsborough County [Florida] School Board
approved a 2006-07 calendar minus holidays for Yom Kippur, Good Friday or the Muslim holiday
Eid Al-Fitr. … Only board member Jennifer Faliero voted against the new calendar, saying she
checked with other lawyers and believes Good Friday is a secular holiday: "It is now about the
Easter Bunny. … They have taken religion out of it completely."
Temple University
Faces Suit After Trying to Have Christian Student Committed. Back
in 1999 Temple University sponsored the controversial and blasphemous play
Corpus Christi, in which Christ is portrayed as a homosexual. Michael Marcavage,
then a Christian student at the Philadelphia school, complained to administrators. Temple
officials eventually tried to have Marcavage committed to a mental institution because of
his opposition to the play.
BC is not PC for
students. In what's perceived as a case of political
correctness trumping history and everyday usage, students in Australia are now
seeing the calendar term B.C. — which stands for "Before Christ" — being
replaced with BCE, meaning "Before Common Era." "This is political correctness gone
mad," Shadow Education Minister Jillian Skinner told the Sydney Daily Telegraph.
Editor's Note: Recently
my wife had the opportunity to serve as a math tutor for a high school student who
had never heard of the terms BC and AD. In his suburban public school
they use the terms BC and BCE instead.
Worst
commencement speakers of 2004: Graduation ceremonies themselves are being
used to pound home some final liberal body blows. At the 50 highest-ranked
undergraduate universities (according to U.S. News & World Report), liberals overwhelmingly
dominate the list of graduation speakers.
Big
Brother? Of Course!! We could debate whether or not the actual purpose
of public education is to produce a populace of virtual idiots, but regardless, that has been
the effect. The elimination of any reference to traditional standards of morality from
the curriculum is also sadly evident from the behavior of these wretches.
Supreme Court Rules Against State Money for
Theology Students: The U.S. Supreme Court has dealt a major blow to Christian students who major
in theology at public universities. The justices say states may withhold scholarships from students who
are studying theology — even if they make that same money available to students who are studying
something else.
Student broadcaster suspended for
saying "God bless". A high school student dismissed from his school broadcast program for signing
off with "God bless" is rallying community members to his side. James Lord, a senior at Dupo High School
in Dupo, Ill., was suspended for one month from his daily news broadcast on the school's closed circuit television
after signing off his Dec. 17 broadcast, the Belleville News-Democrat reported.
Do
Public Schools Have a Prayer? Supreme Court rulings have sought to stifle
prayer at school-related activities, but students, parents, and school officials have
found ways to continue to pray.
Atheism lessons
planned for British schools: Children should learn about atheism in religious
education lessons as part of moves to make the subject more relevant to the modern world,
according to a report from a think-tank with close ties to New Labour.
Philosophy
Professor Punished for Expressing Religious Beliefs. Lakeland Community
College near Cleveland, Ohio, has removed a professor of moral philosophy from his classes
as punishment for refusing to hide his religious identity from students.
Teacher told to drop Star of
David. A municipally employed teacher in Kristiansand [Norway] has been prevented from wearing a
Star of David around his neck. Kristiansand Adult Education Center, where the man works, ruled that the
Jewish symbol could be deemed a provocation towards the many Muslim students at the school, Norwegian
Broadcasting (NRK) reports.
Christians Fight California's
Muslim Indoctrination of Schoolchildren: Such schoolroom activities as praying to Allah and
simulating Islamic worship are not "devotional activities," District Judge Phyllis Hamilton decreed in a highly
publicized lawsuit brought by Christian pupils and parents at Excelsior Elementary School in Byron, California.
Education
or Indoctrination: Inquiring Minds Want to Know. Two thoughts come to mind as I reflect on
this story. The first deals with the notion of the "double standard"; the second, with "duplicity."
Our current climate of political correctness in this country has produced a dizzying double standard as it
relates to Christianity and its competing world views -- including Islam.
Lawsuit filed against public
school officials for censoring "Lunch Bunch" Bible Club: Federal law may say that student
Bible clubs have the same rights as others to advertise their meetings in public school buildings, but
public school officials in Crosby, Minnesota, say the law doesn't apply on their high school campus.
[Then you have to wonder what other laws don't apply there. And why not?]
School Holiday
Celebrations Information Letter: Although court decisions permit holiday observances,
it is my concern that certain national public interest groups have been pressuring local school
districts to censor religious expression during Christmas. This letter will attempt to
provide answers for those questions which are most commonly asked regarding the rights of
students and teachers to participate in these observances.
Traditions
Endangered! Every year there will be episodes of the political
correctors trying their best to stop student led prayers at high school football
games. No matter that these prayers are long in history and heritage, no matter
that the students and players wish to pray. The political correctors oppose
traditions like prayer at games because they oppose America and any tradition,
which honors our roots and culture.
Alliance
Defense Fund Intervenes in Louisiana School "Bible Ban". How
dangerous is a Bible in the hands of a public school second grader?
Teens
sue school over Bible club: Two students who wanted to start a Bible
club sued Kentridge High School, contending that the school violated their freedom of
speech and equal-access rights. Attorney Kyle Netterfield of Ellis, Li & McKinstry in
Seattle filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle yesterday [4/3/2003].
The
Constitutionality of Teaching Alternative Forms of Spiritual Practices in Public
Schools: The teaching of religion in public schools remains a controversy
which evolves in response to the ever-changing spiritual interests of society. As
these interests broaden, they continue to challenge traditional religious thought. In
recent years, heightened interests in spirituality have expanded the belief spectrum,
introducing modern doctrines such as the New Age movement. [PDF]
Federal
Judge Scolds School Officials For Ruling Out Christian Views on Homosexuality: A
federal judge has expressed outrage over a Michigan public high school's decision to
exclude Christian clergy from a discussion of homosexuality and religion, saying the
school's actions "smack of government and religious totalitarianism."
Celebrating
the Christmas Holiday in Public Schools: Unfortunately, Christmas has
also become a time of controversy in public schools as teachers, school administrators,
parents and students struggle to determine their legal rights and responsibilities concerning
the celebration of the holiday in the schools. [PDF]
Teachers
Decry Schools' Anti-Christmas Bigotry: Every year the attacks on Christmas
by intolerant leftists seem to be more ludicrous and start earlier. But at least some
teachers are denouncing the anti-Christian bias of New York City's failed government
school monopoly.
School
bans saying "Christmas": At a time when Americans of many faiths — and
even no faith — gear up to celebrate Christmas this year, a first-grade teacher in
Sacramento Co., Calif., says she's been ordered by her principal not to utter the
word "Christmas" at school.
Reaction: When
Christmas Becomes Illegal: Imagine that. Christmas banned
in a public school classroom. This interdiction is
actually quite predictable, because the word Christmas and the concept of a holiday
bearing the name of Christ contradict the situational ethics that pervade many public
school classrooms. If there is no true right and wrong, there must not be a notion of
a Savior or the need of a Savior.
Anti-discrimination
policy threatens 1st Amendment: In September, Rutgers banned a Christian group
from using campus facilities and stripped the group of university funding because it selects
leaders on the basis of religious belief. "Political and religious affiliation" is not
really the sticking point at Rutgers—. The real intention is to break or banish
religious groups with biblically based opposition to homosexuality.
Suit
Claims NYC Schools Discriminate Against Christians: The
nation's largest public school system, New York City, is being
sued for religious discrimination, for allegedly allowing the
display of Jewish and Islamic religious symbols in their buildings
while prohibiting Christian symbols.
Institute
Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court in Religious Candy Cane Case! In challenging
a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that upholds a discriminatory
elementary school policy, Institute attorneys argue that school officials violated
a student's First Amendment rights when they prohibited him from handing out pencils and
candy canes bearing Christian messages to his classmates during holiday parties,
while allowing his classmates to distribute non-religious items.
Candy-Bearing
Students Face Possible Suspension: A group of high school students in the
Boston area could find out today [01/02/2003] whether they will be suspended for passing
out candy canes with a religious message.
Update:
Case
of Christian "Candy Cane" Kid Comes Up in Court: Attorneys for the
Rutherford Institute have asked a circuit court to preserve the constitutional rights
of an elementary school student in New Jersey who wanted to give religious gifts to
his classmates.
The
ancient roots of Thanksgiving: I'm appalled at the way
Americans have forgotten the meaning of Thanksgiving. Have
you checked out what your children are learning about this
holiday in both government and too many private schools?
Ethics
Report Card on Students Shows Definite Downward Trend: Michael
Josephson, president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics, says
evidence from the survey indicates a willingness to cheat has become the
norm, and that the typical authority figures in students' lives — parents,
teachers, coaches, even religious educators — have been unable to stem the
tide. "The scary thing," he says, "is that so many kids are entering the
workforce to become corporate executives, politicians, airplane mechanics,
and nuclear inspectors with the dispositions and skills of cheaters and thieves."
Let's
get government, not God – out of our schools: Instead of
fighting to retain God in government schools, why not battle to
remove government from education? That is the real outrage.
Why
Christians don't belong in government schools – Part 1: "If an
unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the
mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have
viewed it as an act of war." The rantings of a right-wing fanatic? No,
it's the conclusion of the National Commission on Excellence in Education,
convened 21 years ago by U.S. Education Secretary Terrence Bell.
Why
Christians don't belong in government schools – Part 2: These
are not people who are deliberately trying to destroy youth. They are,
rather, people who fervently believe, with a religious zeal, in a radically
different worldview than the one in which you believe, in which most
Americans believe.
Why
Christians don't belong in government schools – Part 3: Some
Christians, aware that the modern public school has become a God-free zone,
comfort themselves with the notion that their Christian children are bearing
witness to their unsaved peers. This, increasingly, is being seen for what
it is – a convenient excuse.
Is
Liberty Hanging by a Thread? Contrary to the intent of our founders, Bible
reading, prayer, and the advocation of Christian values in our schools, have been replaced
by an anti-God religion known as Secular Humanism (promoted both by
government-funded education, and by federal court rulings).
Why
are Christians losing America? [Quoting John W. Chalfant] Once God
was shown the door, America went into chaos. Scholastic Aptitude Test scores
plummeted. Violent crime rocketed upward. The abortion mills did an unprecedented
business as they devised ever-more-sadistic ways to kill children before and
even during birth.
School
Censors Christian, Girl Sues: In Michigan, diversity apparently includes
everything except Christianity.
Church
sues school board over censorship: A church has filed suit against a
North Carolina school board and principal after a middle school refused to approve
a church-sponsored sign for its athletic field that included a Bible verse.
Teacher's
Request for Prayer Brings Threat of Dismissal: A public school
teacher in Nebraska has been reprimanded and threatened with termination
for comments he made at a private prayer meeting.
District
bars gospel choir from 9-11 event: A school district barred
a high school gospel choir from singing at a 9-11 memorial service because
the event was held at a church. Allowing the public school students
to sing at Central Baptist Church in Sanford, Fla., or any
religious service, would have violated the First Amendment's Establishment
Clause, according to the Seminole County School District.
The
Campus Crusade Against Christ: Over the years, I have heard
students complain about professors calling Christianity a "violent religion" or
telling their students who believe the Bible that they have a "problem" because
evolution is a "proven theory." Others baldly label Biblical objections to homosexuality
as a form of "bigotry" or a "phobia" implying a need for either sensitivity
training or psychotherapy.
Pledge
furor is evidence of hostility to religion: In schools
the anti-religion campaign is often hysterical. When schoolchildren
are invited to write about any historical figure, this usually means they can
pick Stalin or Jeffrey Dahmer, but not Jesus or Luther, because religion is
reflexively considered dangerous in schools and loathsome historical villains
aren't. Similarly a moment of silence in the schools is wildly controversial
because some children might use it to pray silently on public property. The overall
message is that religion is backward, dangerous and toxic.
Religious Expression
Censored at Columbine: A federal appeals court says Columbine High School officials
were right to bar Christian messages painted on tiles for the newly refurbished school.
Conservative
Group Laments School Prayer Ruling: It was forty years
ago that the U.S. Supreme Court banned voluntary
school prayer, in what was billed as a "landmark" First Amendment case. The
Texas Justice Foundation says the 1962 Supreme Court ruling was "an
exercise of raw judicial tyranny without precedent, one that produced a
40-year decline in the quality and safety of American schools."
Temptation
averted: no "Lord's Prayer" at Woodbine. Woodbine
[Iowa] High School was the center of attention Sunday [5/19/2002] over
whether "The Lord's Prayer" would find its way into its graduation
ceremony. In the end, the song didn't. School officials, graduates
and the community abided by a federal judge's decision to ban the
song following a lawsuit by two sophomore choir members from
an atheist family.
Religion
It's Not: Education Reform and its Enemies: Attorneys
and their clients competed for victory in the
high-stakes education reform fight by pretending that the
issue is religion. Just outside the courtroom, the real
issue in the case was clear. Zelman v. Simmons epitomizes
the passionate tooth-and-nail struggle between parents of
children in failing schools and the education establishment.
State Reprimands
School Superintendent for Leading Students in Prayer: A school
superintendent who allegedly violated the rights of students by
initiating a prayer at a school assembly has been reprimanded by the
Nebraska Department of Education.
Board allows religious Valentine's Day
cards: The board's actions are in response to a lawsuit filed earlier this year after school
officials refused to allow a Cushing Elementary School second-grader to distribute valentines with Christian
messages and made her take back religious tracts she passed out for Halloween. The school district and
its attorney defended the district's actions at the time, saying that allowing Morgan to distribute Halloween
tracts and valentines with such messages as "Jesus loves you" and "Freely rely on God" would violate the
separation of church and state.
More information about the separation of
church and state is on another page.
Poster
With Picture of Jesus Lands Kindergartner in Court:
Antonio Peck was a kindergartener at Baldwinsville Elementary School in Syracuse, where
he was assigned to draw a poster relating to his class' study of environmental issues.
Antonio drew people picking up litter, children holding hands around the globe and a picture
of a white-robed man kneeling in one corner. According to Antonio's attorney,
Erick Stanley, Antonio meant the picture to be Jesus, but never wrote it anywhere on
the poster. When the poster was hung on a wall with posters from almost 80 other
students, teachers folded the poster to hide the figure of Jesus and covered part of
Antonio's name at the bottom.
Disestablish
the cult of liberalism: This week the Supreme Court upheld the right of
religious groups to participate in the beautiful mosaic of after-school activities. No
new territory was broken: The case was almost identical to another case in which the
Supreme Court reversed the exact same court years ago. This was massive
resistance. Justice Clarence Thomas remarked on the oddity of having to
reverse the same court twice, noting that while the appellate courts aren't required to cite
all the Supreme Court's precedents, they might want to cite the last time they were reversed
on the same facts.
Without
a Prayer: Judge Nixes School's Graduation Tradition. The
program says prayer. A judge says no. And so, when Washington
Community High School hosts graduation Sunday, superintendent Lee Edwards will have
to explain how a 24-hour legal lightning bolt struck this Peoria, Ill., suburb, ending
the school's 80-year tradition of offering invocation and benediction prayers at graduation.
Christianity
and Public Education: Do They Go Together? Many
educators assume that because our society has become so diverse in
recent years, it's inappropriate to give Christianity any greater attention
than other religions in today's public school curriculum. In their minds, it's
insensitive to give more emphasis to Christianity than to, say, Islam or
Buddhism. It's like being a cultural bully.
All
Extracurriculars Are Extraneous at This High School. At
the Mission Viejo High School in Southern California,
you won't see any clubs that aren't related to the school
curriculum. The reason: The Saddle Valley Unified School
District doesn't want to have to let in a Christian club.
Fearful of Offending Wiccans,
School District Invokes Vanishing Act. A school district in the state of Washington has
banned all forms of Halloween activities, arguing they are a waste of time and disrespectful to
witches. The decision by Puyallup School District to ditch its annual Halloween celebration
has outraged scores of parents and students. District spokeswoman Karen Hansen says students
dressed up Halloween costumes might be "offensive" to members of the Wiccan religion.
Attorney Argues NY Schools
Discriminate Against Christian Students. A school district that limits the religious
expression of Christian students is allowing Muslim students to skip class to observe the month of
Ramadan. The New York City Department of Education has given Muslim students at Brooklyn
International High School permission to miss class four consecutive Fridays to observe the
religious holiday.
Christian Group Fights
Familiar Free Speech Battle With Maryland Schools. Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF)
is once again fighting the literature distribution policy in Montgomery County, Maryland,
schools. The Christian group has filed a second appeal with the Fourth U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals, challenging a district court ruling that bars the group from distributing
its flyers in the county's schools.
Rossford
High School cancels Christian rock band. School officials were considering
letting a Christian rock band play during an anti-drug assembly next week, but decided
yesterday [12/14/2004] to cancel the performance because of concerns over having religious
music played in a public school.
High School Nixes Plan to Censor Christian
Grad's Speech. A Pennsylvania high school has changed its decision to censor a graduating senior's
valedictory speech by insisting that he take out any references to God or Jesus. The law firm that intervened
on the Christian student's behalf is applauding the school for choosing to rethink its position.
Penn State says there are "Too
many" Christian groups here. A Christian student club is suing Penn State University for rejecting
it as a student organization after being told the school already has "too many" Christian clubs.
Feds Fuel Anti-Christian Bigotry in
Schoolchildren. The practice of Hitler, Stalin and every other tyrant of encouraging children to
"inform" on their parents is quietly slipping into the United States.
Student sues college for psychiatric
abuse. He was sent to a mental ward after he objected to play depicting Jesus as homosexual.
The case of John Freshwater
This subsection is about an Ohio Middle School science teacher who is in trouble because he has a Bible on his
desk. The school wants him to remove it. The school's motivation is unknown, but it is probably
based on fear a lawsuit. I encourage you to read the Constitution, as amended, which clearly states
that we all have a right to freely exercise our religion.
Mt. Vernon teacher
could face penalties. A Mount Vernon City Schools teacher could be found guilty of insubordination if a Bible
is not removed from his desktop. John Freshwater, an eighth-grade science teacher, called the recent request by the
district an "infringement on my deeply held religious beliefs." Superintendent Steve Short said, to his knowledge,
the Bible still sits atop Freshwater's desk.
Ohio Students Bring Bibles to Class to Support
Teacher. A school superintendent says some students at the district's middle school brought Bibles to classes
to show support for a teacher who refuses to remove his Bible from the view of students. Mount Vernon Superintendent
Stephen Short says Friday's [4/18/2008] action hasn't caused any major disruption.
Teacher Must Remove Bible from Desk? Mount
Vernon Ohio Middle School science teacher John Freshwater will not remove the Bible from atop his desk. He'll take
opposing school superintendent and principal to court first.
Students rally in support of science
teacher. Hundreds of students, joined by some parents and community members, gathered at the Spirit Rock
outside of Mount Vernon High School in a show of support for middle school teacher John Freshwater. Freshwater
complied with requests from the school administration to take down a display of the Ten Commandments, but refuses to
remove a Bible from his desk at school.
ACLU supports MV school board decision.
Mount Vernon Middle School science teacher John Freshwater refused to move his Bible from his classroom desk after school
officials requested that he do so. At a rally on Public Square on Wednesday, he defended his right to display his
personal Bible as a constitutional right. If he's looking for the American Civil Liberties Union to defend him, he
could be disappointed.
Ohio teacher in trouble for keeping Bible
on desk. According to some, just keeping the Bible on the desk is itself enough to violate the Establishment
clause of the U.S. Constitution. The argument goes something like this: (1) If someone has a Bible on his desk,
then he is endorsing Christianity. (2) In his capacity as a teacher, Freshwater is a representative of the
state. (3) Therefore, if Freshwater has a Bible on his desk, that is the same as the state endorsing
Christianity.
Ohio
Teacher Refuses to Remove Bible From Classroom. An Ohio school teacher of over 20 years has come under
attack recently by school administrators because of a Bible that he has kept on his desk for his entire career. … Although
Freshwater agreed to remove the 10 Commandments, he stood firm on keeping his Bible which he said governed his entire set
of values and beliefs — values and beliefs that were protected by the constitution, he said.
The case of Marcus Borden
A high school coach has been forbidden to passively participate in student-led prayers, and has even been
told not to kneel or bow his head during those prayers. Keep your chin up, coach, or you'll
establish a national religion! This is just absurd.
School coach violated religion ban in prayer
ritual: US court. A football coach violated a ban on teaching religion in public schools when he joined
his players in kneeling and head-bowing rituals before games, a US appeals court ruled Tuesday. The decision could
have national implications and may ultimately affect thousands of schools throughout the United States, many of which are
believed to employ coaches who engage in prayer with their teams.
The Editor says...
Hey, this is news: According to the writer of the article above, there is now "a ban on teaching
religion in public schools." When was that law enacted?
Court
says coach can't kneel, bow head as team prays. A New Jersey school board was within its rights to tell a
football coach he cannot kneel and bow his head as members of his team have a student-led pre-game prayer, a federal appeals
court ruled Tuesday.
Let Us
Pray — But Don't You Dare Bow Your Head. The absurdities of liberals will never cease to amaze me.
To their credit, they keep us on our toes, but I would much prefer they actually read a Constitution before wasting so
much time and resources on harebrained lawsuits like this one….
Whose First Amendment Is It, Anyway? [Scroll down] Respecting
the fact that they were praying, then, is somehow a disrespect of their religious rights? And what of the rights of
the coach? Does he have to check them at the locker room door? Note that we're not talking about him bringing a
Bible or leading the prayers; he's just in the room when the students pray and takes the same position as they do. The
judges opinions in this case are just as tortured as the logic used to misread the First Amendment.
Football
Coach's Prayer with Students Ruled Unconstitutional. The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia
ruled unanimously Tuesday [4/15/2008] against coach Marcus Borden on the grounds that it was unconstitutional for him to
pray and "bow his head and take a knee" alongside his students, in what, the court argued, would be an endorsement of
religion by a school staff member.
The Editor says...
The judges are "interpreting" a law that doesn't even exist, when they say the coach does not have the
right to freely exercise his religion. The only long-term solution to the problem of activist judges
is impeachment. Federal judges do not serve for life, except on the Supreme Court. They
can be removed.
Football coach may take prayer
fight higher. East Brunswick High School football coach Marcus Borden, who said he is fighting for his peers
nationwide, is expected to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a review of Tuesday's federal appeals court ruling that
prohibits him from participating in team prayer.
E.B. schools wins appeal in Borden case.
The appeal came after a July 2006 ruling in U.S. District Court that said it is not an endorsement of religion for Borden to
bow his head or take a knee while his players pray before games or at team meals. … The Board of Education, however,
argued that Bordens' actions ignore students' rights to be free from religious coercion.
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