Time to Reinstate Bible Reading and Prayer in Our Schools.  In the late 1940s, Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black, in the case of Everson v. United States, took a quote from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson out of context and insisted that the wall of separation between church and state "should be high and impregnable."  Despite some variability, this position became the basis for the Court's interpretation of the separation of church and state which led to the banning of prayer and Bible reading in the public schools at the beginning of the 1960s. [...] In our public schools, "separation" came to mean students could not pray with or be led in prayer or be even asked to pray (with the right not to pray) by their teacher in any classroom.  No teacher could read the Bible aloud to the students, but had to check his or her explicit faith at the door.  That "separation" was taken to mean that the Ten Commandment could not be posted anywhere in any school.  A saying from anywhere in the Bible could not be posted in any school.

Ex-Employee Sues Blue State University For Allegedly Firing Her After She Converted To Christianity.  A former City University of New York (CUNY) staff member is suing the university for wrongfully terminating her employment after she converted to Christianity, according to a religious discrimination lawsuit filed last week.  Teona Pagan, who worked at CUNY's Research Foundation as the Fellowships and Public Service Program Coordinator, alleges she was denied a religious accommodation for an aspect of her job that required her to recruit students for a fellowship focused on the promotion of LGBT "rights and causes," according to the complaint filed Aug. 28.  When Pagan converted to Christianity in April 2022 — months after beginning her job in November 2021 — she suddenly found her duties related to the fellowship in conflict with her sincerely held religious beliefs.

America In Decline.  [Scroll down]  Then between 1948 and 1962 there were three or four Supreme Court decisions that eliminated all references to God in the public schools.  The false and untenable doctrine of separation of church and state based on a misreading of a letter by Thomas Jefferson was affirmed by a 5-4 vote in 1947 after 171 years of functioning quite well without said "separation."  By the early 1960s, no reading of Psalms, no posting of the Ten Commandments, and no prayers were allowed as the doctrine of atheism took a big leap forward.

Teen gets diploma he was denied for praising Jesus during graduation speech.  Micah Price got his high-school diploma on Wednesday — five days after the rest of his classmates.  And Jesus was the reason.  The Kentucky teenager had his diploma withheld for professing his Baptist faith in his graduation-ceremony closing speech.

Kentucky High School Student Denied Diploma After Honoring Jesus During "Off-Script" Graduation Speech.  A high school in Kentucky withheld a Christian graduate's diploma when he reportedly went off script during his graduation speech to praise Jesus and encourage others to seek Him.  As the New York Post reported Thursday, Micah Price gave a commencement speech at Campbell County High School in Alexandria, Ky., on May 24.  He reportedly was permitted to praise Jesus Christ by school officials but ended up ticking them off after asking other Christians to find God.  WKRC notes administrators approve the speeches that students rehearse.

High schooler forced to apologize for praising Jesus in graduation speech in order to get diploma.  The Kentucky high schooler has been forced to apologize for speaking about his faith and praising Jesus at graduation in order to get his diploma after furious school administrators withheld it.  Micah Price received his diploma from Campbell County High School on Wednesday — five days after the now-infamous ceremony where the teen told his peers that Jesus "is the way," WXIX reported.

Atheist Group Forces Florida Elementary School to Disband Fellowship of Christian Athletes Club.  The sole elementary school in a rural Florida county has disbanded its Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) club because an atheist group complained that it was "unconstitutional" to "indoctrinate" kids into religion.  Hamilton County Elementary School, located in the small town of Jasper, was stiff-armed into shutting down its chapter of the North Central Florida FCA after the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) accused the school of violating the First Amendment in March.

Judge approves class-action suit against Chicago Public Schools for Hindu rituals forced on students.  Chicago Public Schools allegedly subjected students to secret religious rituals by a Hollywood director's charitable foundation with the help of the University of Chicago.  CPS and the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace paid a Christian student $150,000 last fall to resolve litigation, and now could be on the hook for much more.  U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly granted class certification for Establishment Clause claims in a First Amendment lawsuit that covers every student in the "Quiet Time" program, which ran for four years at eight CPS schools, who turned 18 on or after Jan. 13, 2021.  He said it's likely to number in the thousands of students.

They'll glue a dime to the ceiling and call it compliance.
Louisiana enacts law that requires 'In God We Trust' motto to be displayed in every public classroom.  The legislative proposal had bipartisan support — Democrat governor John Bel Edwards signed Republican Dodie Horton's bill into law — it is the national motto after all!  But, since you probably know how unthinking, hypersensitive, and petty the average American left is, you would know that the idea of American classrooms displaying American aphorisms instituted into civic life by one of the greatest American presidents (Eisenhower) wouldn't be a move without controversy.

South Carolina Superintendent of Education stirs controversy over "God-given potential" prompt.  The head of South Carolina 's Department of Education is on the receiving-end of criticism after local media highlighted concerns about potential First Amendment violations over an email to employees.  The message was sent prior to an upcoming Q-and-A meeting, and asked employees planning to attend to state their goals for their students in a question referencing "God" in the prompt.  The email was delivered to SCDE employees earlier this month, and instructed recipients to state their name, role, and fill-in the blank for the following prompt: "I believe it is essential for SCDE to provide ______ for every child to reach their full, God-Given potential."  Llewellyn Sheally, the interim director of the Office of Assessment and Standards within the SCDE, who sent the message, explained while the prompt was written by Superintendent Ellen Weaver, it was only intended for internal employees, and not teachers.

School requires young children to create pagan idols!  A school in Ohio has been warned that its kachina doll worship lessons are illegal.  The fight is over a classroom demand that students make a kachina doll, which "were used by native Americans as sacred idols," because it fails to follow the requirements of the U.S. Constitution.  "The law does not support the school's compulsion of student's speech under these circumstances," explained John Monaghan, a lawyer with the American Center for Law & Justice.  "Accordingly, the school's decision presents a matter of great constitutional concern for the ACLJ.  The instruction to make the doll interferes with the Mutti son's First Amendment rights as a student."  According to Front Lines Ohio, the letter went to the Lexington school after Amie Mutti explained, "On the week of February 13th, 2023, our eleven-year-old son was instructed by his fifth-grade teacher during Social Studies class to make a kachina doll.  This is no ordinary doll.  These dolls were used by native Americans as sacred idols."

Utah district bans Bible in elementary and middle schools 'due to vulgarity or violence'.  The Good Book is being treated like a bad book in Utah after a parent frustrated by efforts to ban materials from schools convinced a suburban district that some Bible verses were too vulgar or violent for younger children. [...] The 72,000-student Davis School District north of Salt Lake City removed the Bible from its elementary and middle schools while keeping it in high schools after a committee reviewed the scripture in response to a parental complaint.

Utah School District Bans King James Version Bible Due to "Violence and Vulgarity".  The Davis School District in Utah has removed the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible from the shelves of every school level in the district besides high school.  According to Fox 13 News, the KJV Bible was banned due to it not being "age appropriate" and because it contained "violence and vulgarity."  In total 8 elementary and middle schools banned the KJV Bible.  A spokesperson for the district stated the Bible "does not contain sensitive material as defined by Utah Code but still pulled it from certain schools because of age appropriateness."

The Editor says...
Have any parents complained about the violence prescribed in the Koran?

Update:
[The] Bible [is being] Returned to School Libraries After Being Removed for 'Vulgarity or Violence' Due to Leftist Protest.  The Bible was removed from elementary and middle schools in Utah's Davis School District after leftists created a petition for its removal over "vulgarity or violence."  The leftists were trying to retaliate after a state law was passed banning providing children with books containing sexual content.  On Tuesday, the school board unanimously voted to return the Bibles.  District spokesperson Christopher Williams said the "Bible has significant, serious value for minors that outweighs the violent or vulgar content it contains."  School board President Liz Mumford, who voted to return the Bibles, echoed his statement and said that it "has serious literary, artistic, historical, and political value for minors."

Professor fails student for refusing to condemn her Christian faith.  A professor at Polk State College has allegedly failed a humanities student after she refused to concede that Jesus is a "myth" or that Christianity oppresses women during a series of mandatory assignments at the Florida college.  According to a press release from the Liberty Counsel, a non-profit public interest law firm, Humanities Professor Lance "Lj" Russum gave a student a "zero" on four separate papers because the 16-year-old did not "conform to his personal worldviews of Marxism, Atheism, Feminism, and homosexuality."  The law firm has called for a full, private investigation of the professor and the course curriculum.

Texas Dems Don't Want Chaplains in Schools.  Texas House members passed Senate Bill 763 on Monday which will permit school districts to hire chaplains.  Unlike school counselors in the state who must have master's degrees and two years of classroom teaching experience, the chaplains are not required to be certified by the State Board for Educator Certification.  Wait, Texas would allow people without a string of letters after their name to interact with children?  The recklessness is stunning.  Chaplains, however, must pass a background check, be endorsed by a religious organization, and must have some training to meet the Department of Defense chaplain standards.  Well, there's that.  But without extensive education and training, how will they guide confused children into gender transition?  Will they cause a fuss over the smutty books in the school library?  This can't end well.

Utah School District Considers Banning the Holy Bible After One Far-Left Parent Calls the Content Pornographic.  A far-left Utah parent is demanding the Davis County School District remove the Bible from schools, calling it "one of the most sex-ridden books around."  The parent claims that the Bible violates a Utah law passed in 2022 to ban any books containing "pornographic or indecent" content from Utah school.  The leftist filed the compliant in anger over actual pornographic books with cartoon depictions of sex acts being removed for Utah schools.  District spokesperson Chris Williams told ABC4 they will consider the complaint.

High school football coach fired for praying with players rehired, awarded nearly $2 million.  After a years-long legal battle, Christian high school assistant football coach Joseph Kennedy has been reinstated to his position and awarded nearly $2 million after he was fired for leading players in prayer after each game.  "Mr. Kennedy will be an assistant football coach for Bremerton High School for the 2023 season," the Bremerton School District in Washington said in a March 6 statement on its website.  "Mr. Kennedy has completed human resources paperwork and we are awaiting the results of his fingerprinting and background check."

The Editor says...
He has already worked for you before.  You're re-hiring him.  Why do you require a background check?

Putting God's Wisdom Back In The Classroom.  Perhaps the single biggest factor contributing to America's rising crime rate can be traced back to 1962.  That was when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a voluntary, non-denominational prayer recited by school kids in New York State classrooms violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.  For the record, the prayer that ignited that controversy reads as follows:  "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country."  These 22 words were so repellant to Steven Engel, a founding member of the New York Civil Liberties Union, that he became the lead plaintiff in the effort to prohibit the recitation of them.  After years of dogged effort, Engel succeeded in preventing children from acknowledging God in school.  What has replaced prayer in schools during the 61 years since the Engel v. Vitale decision?  New York City Mayor Eric Adams knows.  Adams, a retired NYPD captain, told the city's religious leaders during an Interfaith Breakfast in Manhattan earlier this month, "When we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools."

Arizona school board member says district should reject hiring teachers with Christian values.  An Arizona school board member wearing cat ears during a meeting said she would oppose having a contract with a Christian university over the religious and Biblical beliefs they espouse, Fox News Digital found.  The Washington Elementary School District, which serves students in the Phoenix and Glendale areas, had an ongoing contract with Arizona Christian University for five years, enabling their student teachers to be placed in its schools for field experience.  The contract opened up opportunities for recruitment and hiring.  On Feb. 23, the board agreed on a motion to dissolve the partnership with the Christian university.  They did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they have a bias against Christian beliefs.

Teachers trying to protect their students from Christian symbols.  Incredibly — and illogically — the same teachers who push Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the classroom and revel in discussing every conceivable sexual orientation and practice with young students are absolutely determined to keep their charges from being exposed to any Christian symbols during the Christmas season.  In fact, they don't want you to even say the word "Christmas."  The blog We Are Teachers recently reposted a 2018 Facebook article titled "Holiday Decorations Don't Belong in Classrooms — Period."  So, it's okay to adorn one's classroom with a LGBTQ and/or BLM flag, but not with Christmas decorations?  Yup.  Why?  The article cited a number of reasons, including the fact that "not everyone celebrates Christmas."  Well, not everyone celebrates gay pride or the burning and looting of American cities, either, but that doesn't seem to matter to these insane "educators."  Another reason listed was, "The holidays are difficult for a lot of kids."  Yeah, well I'd say being forced by adults to talk about sexuality is difficult for all kids.

The decay of the First Amendment is on display in Virginia.  On December 13, the school board of Chesapeake, Virginia postponed voting on whether to authorize the establishment of an "After School Satan Club" at a local elementary school.  Parents describing themselves "at their wits' end" over the idea protested the proposed vote.  The proposal emanated from the Satanic Temple, a group of political activists who identify themselves as a religious sect and portray After School Satan Clubs as a counterpart to fundamentalist Christian Good News Clubs, which they maintain constitute an unconstitutional effort by the "Religious Right" to infiltrate public education and erode the separation of church and state.  Lawyers representing the Satan Club said the school must provide space for the club because of its affiliation with religion, protected by the First Amendment. [...] How did we come to a pass in which an explicitly non-theistic, and obviously either fraudulent or just plain wacky group, could be thought to have a constitutional right to public school sponsorship, just to counterbalance the "indoctrination" offered by a Christian organization?

Virginia elementary school to host 'After School Satan Club'.  A Chesapeake, Virginia, elementary school, later this month, will have a new offering for students called the After School Satan Club.  According to a flyer on The Satanic Temple's Facebook page, the After School Satan Club is scheduled to convene in the library at B.M. Williams Primary School in Chesapeake, Virginia on Dec. 15, where students can learn about benevolence and empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving, creative expression, personal sovereignty, and compassion.

Theology and the Schools.  While religious history or the Bible as literature may be taught in public schools, they cannot replace theology because they belong to the domains of history and literature.  They fail to replace theology because they don't encourage contemplation beyond the human realm in the way theology does.  As such, they cannot provide the frameworks for thought theology provides.  Without such frameworks, we are left without important resources to interrogate political systems, ethics, or philosophies that have claimed theological ground they are unfit to occupy.

Media, Schools Continue to Demonize Thanksgiving.  In recent years, several left-wing institutions, including the mainstream media and public education, have ramped up their attacks against the beloved holiday of Thanksgiving, often falsely accusing the holiday of remembering racism and violence that never occurred.  Thanksgiving is remembered as the special feast held by the Pilgrims after they first arrived to America aboard the Mayflower in 1620, and was historically significant as an occasion where the Pilgrims and the Native Americans were able to come together peacefully and enjoy the abundance of natural resources that the New World had to offer.  In the following centuries, it is observed as a holiday where Americans express thanks and gratitude for family, friends, and other blessings in their lives.  However, as reported by Fox News, far-left activists and pundits have used the mainstream media to viciously bash the concept of Thanksgiving.

Pennsylvania mom rips school district's 'double standard' for allowing 'Satanic Club' event.  [Scroll down] "It doesn't matter what any child believes, or their family believes... this is public school," she continued.  "We send our children to school to get an education, not for all this other stuff that is meant for outside of school."  Crider said many students are "not okay" with the district allowing the Satanic Temple event, and those advocating for the event are not members of the school district.  She also mentioned she was even silenced when trying to sound the alarm during a school board meeting.  "They cut my mic off, I was mad," Crider said.

Barr: Public Schools Are Now So Hostile To Christians, They're Unconstitutional.  The West is facing its deepest civilizational crisis since Jesus Christ resurrected, and addressing the crisis requires removing militant secularists' monopoly on education, former U.S. attorney general William Barr told a packed Christian conference in Chicago, Ill. on Saturday.  "We are going through a fateful crisis in western civilization.  This is the deepest crisis we've faced in my mind since Christ," Barr said.  "That's because our whole civilization is based on the Judeo-Christian tradition and that tradition is under sustained attack by increasingly militant secular forces."  In a reprise of a 2019 speech at Notre Dame University that met massive corporate media backlash, Barr told the audience U.S. public schools have become hostile to traditional religion while wresting control of American children's upbringing from their parents.  This is a threat to the entire Western order, Barr said, because the unique American system of self-government cannot exist without a citizenry that is committed to traditional religion.

A Big Win for Religious Liberty at the Supreme Court.  On October 23, 2015, high school football coach Joseph Kennedy knelt at the 50-yard line and bowed his head for a "brief, quiet prayer."  The game was over and Coach Kennedy prayed alone.  It was a quiet, reflective moment for the coach to exercise his religious beliefs.  The school district objected, informing him it was "unconstitutional."  Three days later, after a football game on October 26, Coach Kennedy "again knelt alone to offer a brief prayer as the players engaged in postgame traditions." Some adults joined him on the field as he prayed.  That would be his final game.  Shortly thereafter, the school district put Coach Kennedy on leave and prohibited him from participating in any capacity in "football program activities."

Parents Rally Against After School Satan Club.  Dozens of protesters joined forces in Greensboro, North Carolina, to pray against an after school Satan club scheduled to meet inside a local elementary school Friday.  Police were stationed near Joyner Elementary School as 50 citizens gathered, carrying signs.  Some participants knelt down to pray, Fox 8 reported.  "Kind of a rallying thing to say 'we here in Greensboro does not want this in our schools,'" explained Tempe Moore, who organized the event.

Ex-AG William Barr:  Public education replaces God with government.  Former Attorney General William P. Barr says public education in the U.S. is setting up the government as a new religion against the constitutional rights of American parents.  America's "abandonment of God" has opened the door for government-run schools to replace families' Judeo-Christian morality with "the mawkish talk of liberal values," Mr. Barr said during a lecture Wednesday night.  "They establish their state religion and believe they can ram it down the throats of people expressing other or contrary beliefs," he said at the Washington Golf & Country Club, speaking as an endowed chair of the Catholic Information Center.

Supreme Court Signals Victory for Praying Football Coach.  The Supreme Court on Monday [4/25/2022] looked poised to side with a high school football coach who claims he was unfairly suspended for praying on the field.  The Bremerton School District in 2015 suspended coach Joe Kennedy, claiming his postgame prayers were designed to cause a spectacle.  Kennedy pushed back, claiming he was exercising his First Amendment rights.  During Monday's arguments, the justices seemed to take Kennedy's side.  Justice Brett Kavanaugh pushed back on the district's characterization of Kennedy as an attention-seeker and said it's hard for a head coach to do anything discreetly during an athletic event.  Justice Samuel Alito took issue with the district's rationale for suspending Kennedy.

Will the Real Good Teachers Please Stand Up?  "Those Christian Conservatives... they need to die.  They need to get COVID and die."  That's what an 8th grade teacher in Colleyville, Texas, said to some fellow teachers recently.  She was broadcasting her deep disdain for parents and their "conservative Christian crap."  Thankfully, her egregious attack on parents was exposed.  She was put on administrative leave by her school district.  The teacher resigned later that day.  While parents at her school are thankful she resigned, some are left wondering what else she may have said to their children or whether her contempt for a particular group of people may have impacted the grades of their children.  Now parents of neighboring districts are concerned she may be hired at one of their schools.  Some local parents are even emailing their superintendent and school board members asking them to not hire this teacher.  Parents are terrified of these kinds of teachers — what I call Political Activist Educators — who take their activism out on their students.  This is not just a Texas issue.  This type of activism is happening in schools across America.

Christian Student Sues Florida School, Alleges He Was Mocked By Students and Teachers For His Faith.  A Florida student has sued his school over what he alleges is religious discrimination by his teachers and fellow classmates.  Nicholas Ortiz, a freshman at Miami's Mater Academy has filed a lawsuit claiming he "was discriminated and retaliated against by his high school ... because he is a Christian," according to the complaint.  Ortiz said he regularly brings his bible to school to read, which he alleges has made him a target for "disparaging comments" from other students, as well as school staff and administrators.  The complaint also outlines what it calls false and defamatory statements that circulated among students claiming Ortiz was planning a school shooting.  Screenshots of communications between students show them discussing the rumored shooting and details their plans to physically assault Ortiz as a result.

Indiana Elementary School Teacher Owned Satanic Temple.  How were your elementary school teachers?  If any were Satanists, you were ahead of your time.  Last month, REAL News Michigan reported that a Fort Wayne, Indiana public school instructor owned a local Satanic temple.

Christian Speaker Gets Canceled by Christian College for Teaching Christian Students Christian Ideas.  We're living in transformative times.  The country has moved away from Christian principles, and that migration includes institutions of faith.  Of course, there are differing iterations of Christianity; but the most traditional one is being fervently phased out.Case in point:  On Valentine's Day, Gordon College welcomed speaker Marvin Daniels.  Marvin is the executive director of community development organization The Hope Center.

LGBT Is OK in Schools — but a West Virginia Christian Revival Assembly Sparks a Walkout.  Our society's social engineers are all in on exposing young children to sex in classrooms, which is why they're currently up in arms over a Florida bill that would prohibit just that.  But the same social engineers are also quite definite about what they don't want in schools — faith in God, for instance.  Perhaps the latest battle on this front concerns a West Virginia school that recently held an evangelical Christian revival assembly.  The event, at Huntington High School, inspired a Wednesday homeroom-period walkout by somewhat less than 10 percent of the pupils — approximately 100 of the more than 1,000-strong student body — and negative coverage by about 99.5 percent of the mainstream media.

Are Satan Clubs coming to your school?  Elementary schoolchildren in Moline, Illinois, were invited last week to an after-school Satan club with five different meeting dates planned for 2022.  The first meeting was scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 13.  "The superintendent of Moline-Coal Valley Schools said in her online note to parents that the flyers were 'not distributed' to all students.  The flyers and promotional materials were sent to the school by the organization 'to be placed in the lobby.  There, flyers were made available for children to peruse and pick up if they chose to do so," Fox News reported.

California agrees to stop telling children to pray to Aztec gods in legal settlement.  California has settled litigation against its inclusion of prayers to Aztec and Yoruba gods that were approved in the state's ethnic studies "model curriculum" this spring.  The lawsuit alleged that children were expected to participate in these prayers or "face the social implications of declining to participate," a violation of their free exercise.  The plaintiffs claim the California Constitution is stricter than the U.S. Constitution on separation of church and state.  The settlement requires California to remove the "In Lak Ech Affirmation" and "Ashe Affirmation" from the online ESMC and notify "all school districts, charter schools and county offices of education" that the prayers were deleted.

Supreme Court To Review Case Of High School Football Coach Fired For Postgame Prayers.  The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it will hear oral arguments in the case of a former Washington high school football coach who was fired over his tradition of postgame prayers.  "No teacher or coach should lose their job for simply expressing their faith while in public," Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of First Liberty, who is representing the case, said in a statement.

Catholic University Student Loses Points on Theology Test After Describing God Using Male Pronouns.  A student at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles is claiming a professor took points off a recent theology test after the student described God using male pronouns.  Theological studies Professor Cecilia Gonzalez-Andrieu was none too pleased with the unnamed student's decision to use "male-gendered language for God repeatedly," according to a report from The College Fix.  The student sent an email to Gonzalez-Andrieu:  "Your comment that I referred to God as a male, I should not have gotten any points off for that.  MULTIPLE times throughout the Bible, God is referred to as a 'he.'  I feel targeted by your comment, as I was raised in the church with the belief that God is a male."

The Editor says...
I'm not a guidance counselor, but here is my free advice to that student:  Abandon Loyola Marymount University today and find a university where the theology professors have read and understood the Bible.

Elementary School Canceled 'Jingle Bells' This Year to Fight Racism.  Christmas is over, and I hope you had a good one — filled with the sights and sounds of the season.  For one elementary school in New York, the above didn't quite work out.  For the sake of equity, the school canceled "Jingle Bells." [...] An announcement was made earlier this year on the district's public website, which hosts a section on "Diversity and Equity."

Los Angeles Public Schools Teach Students That Celebrating Thanksgiving Is Evil.  The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest public school district in the nation with more than 640,000 K-12 students enrolled, discouraged students from celebrating Thanksgiving this year, instead offering an alternative holiday in its place.  The LAUSD Office of Human Relations, Diversity & Equity prepared a number of presentations called "Advisory Lessons" that push left-wing beliefs and are intended to be shown to students.  The website also describes the need for teachers to talk to students about "power, privilege, oppression, and resistance."  One such lesson is called "Let's Talk About Thanksgiving."  It starts out innocently enough, asking students if they prefer pie or turkey.  Then the presentation lists a number of objectives, one of which is "Reflect on how you can honor the true meaning of Thanksgiving."  What exactly is this true meaning, you might ask?  The presentation doesn't waste any time, jumping into a video from MTV titled "Everything You Know About Thanksgiving Is Wrong."

On Campuses, Secularism Breeds Suicide.  It's no coincidence that mental illness among America's younger generation is at an all-time high, while their religious practice is at an all-time low.  Last month (Oct. 12), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill cancelled classes for a day for its 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students, who were urged to consider it a "wellness day" in the wake of two on-campus suicides and an attempted suicide.  Colleges and universities are in the midst of a full-blown mental health crisis.  UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said as much during his announcement.  In a 2019 survey, an unbelievable 45 percent of undergraduate and graduate students "felt so depressed that it was difficult to function" at least once during the previous 12 months, according to the American College Health Association.

California parents request judge block public schools from asking students to pray to Aztec gods.  Three California parents are suing to prevent the state's public school system from reciting prayers to Aztec deities that have been worshipped with human sacrifice — arguing that doing so violates the U.S. and state constitutions.  The issue emerged earlier this year when researcher Chris Rufo reported on that particular aspect of the state's ethnic studies curriculum.  As Fox News previously noted, the curriculum suggests chants that invoke the deity Tezkatlipoka.  Tezkatlipoka is an Aztec god that was honored with human sacrifices.  According to the World History Encyclopedia, an impersonator of Tezkatlipoka would be sacrificed with his heart removed to honor the deity.  In Aztec mythology, Tezkatlipoka is the brother of Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli and Xipe Totec — all of whom appear to be invoked in the chant.

California Parents Sue State Over Public-school Curriculum Featuring Prayers to Pagan Gods.  The California Department of Education is being sued over a new ethnic-studies curriculum that has students reciting prayers to Aztec gods whose worship rituals featured human sacrifice.  The California Board of Education recently approved an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum for use in all public schools in the state.  Chapter five of the curriculum includes a section titled "Affirmations, Chants, and Energizers" that students may be asked to recite.  Among the activities included in this section is the "In Lak Ech Affirmation," an "adaptation" of an ancient Aztec prayer "into poetic, rhythmic, hip hop song form."  It's bad enough that the adaptation features left-wing ideas such as "ecological & social justice," having "a revolutionary spirit that's ... progressive," and "decolonization" — concepts the ancient Aztecs would have laughed right out of Mexico.  What's worse is that the "affirmation" actually calls upon a variety of Aztec deities.

Harvard [is] Determined to Race to the Bottom.  So, Harvard University named Greg Epstein, an atheist, as their head chaplain, because apparently nothing makes more sense to them than turning over the spiritual direction of their students to someone whose entire belief system is built around the belief that there is no God.  At least Epstein is somewhat honest about his belief system, which is more than I can say about the more than 40 religious leaders of apparently 20 different faiths who gave unanimous consent to this grotesque travesty.  Most of America's universities have been post-Christian, if not openly hostile to Christianity, for many years, so Harvard is just putting their stamp of approval on what they see as the natural progression.

Harvard University names a devout ATHEIST as its new head chaplain who describes himself as 'humanist rabbi'.  Harvard University has chosen a devout atheist and 'humanist chaplain' to lead the Ivy League school founded by Puritans to educate their clergy with the motto 'Truth for Christ and the Church.'  Greg Epstein, 44, who was raised in a reformed Jewish household in Queens, New York, was named president of the chaplains for the religious community at the school after serving as Harvard's 'humanist chaplain' since 2005.  He is a self-avowed devout atheist who wants to serve fellow nonreligious believers as well as agnostics and humanists at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, school.

Florida K-12 public schools to require 'moment of silence' for students every day.  Students in every K-12 public school in Florida will soon be able to observe a moment of silence at the start of each school day, if they so choose.  Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed HB 529 into law, which requires teachers in first-period classrooms in all K-12 public schools to set aside at least one minute, but no more than two minutes every day "for a moment of silence."  During that time, "students may not interfere with other students' participation."  In addition, "a teacher may not make suggestions as to the nature of any reflection that a student may engage in during the moment of silence."

The Editor says...
Maybe I've mentioned this before, but I had an elementary school teacher, in a public school in 1963, who had us all recite the Lord's Prayer every morning, after the Pledge of Allegiance.

The public school system had stopped teaching children long before the pandemic.  In Virginia, the Loudoun County Public Schools district was caught passing out a graphic to students that described Christians and white people as "privileged" groups, while women and minorities were described as "oppressed." The "privileged" groups, according to the district's diversity training, contribute to a "white supremacy culture," from which the oppressed groups suffer.  That is, if you are a Christian, you are an oppressor. [...] Forcing deeply controversial and divisive ideologies such as critical race theory upon young children is nothing less than an attempt to make them little Marxists, he added; just replace "racial antagonism for class antagonism."  Parents need to see the public school system for what it is.  It has failed our children academically, but that failure was deliberate.

Reversal: Michigan School Allows Valedictorian to Reference Faith in Speech.  School officials at a Michigan high school have reversed course and allowed the valedictorian to reference her faith in her graduation address in the wake of a letter First Liberty Institute sent to the school principal.  The legal organization that primarily defends religious liberty announced Thursday [5/27/2021] Hillsdale High School reversed its decision that blocked senior valedictorian Elizabeth Turner from making a reference to the significance of her faith in Jesus Christ in her address.

Michigan high school violates federal law by opposing religious language in grad speech: complaint.  Michigan student Elizabeth Turner is fighting back after her public high school told her not to include certain religious content in her upcoming valedictory speech for graduation.  Hillsdale High School Principal Amy Goldsmith took issue with the portion of Turner's draft that mentioned her belief in Jesus Christ, according to a complaint obtained by Fox News.  Sent by First Liberty on Wednesday, the complaint alleges that the Michigan school violated federal law allowing private religious speech at school events.

Biden's America: 3rd Grader Forced To Remove 'Jesus Loves Me' Mask.  The incident apparently took place Oct. 13 at the Simpson Central School, where the principal took her aside and informed her she couldn't wear the mask any longer, even though she'd already worn it several times, though the budding young Marxist cultists were allowed to don BLM masks.  Jennifer Booth, the girl's mother, was informed the mask was a violation of school policy because it had words written on it.  But being literate and able to actually read the school's policy, Booth noticed that part — the 'no words on masks' bit — wasn't there.  At that, the school's superintendent then informed Ms. Booth that the mask violated the school's other attire policy because nothing kids wear can contain political, religious, or other 'inappropriate' symbols.

Appeals court strips legal immunity from college officials for anti-Christian bias.  Three University of Iowa officials can be held personally liable for derecognizing a Christian student club over its leadership requirements, a federal appeals court ruled this week.  The law is "clearly established" that government officials cannot practice viewpoint discrimination, as administrators did by enforcing a "human rights" policy against Business Leaders in Christ but not other student groups, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined.  It's exceedingly rare for courts to deny "qualified immunity" to public actors for violating constitutional rights.  Litigants must point to court precedents that officials should have known were binding on their specific behavior, making it unlawful.

Washington state HS coach fired over post-game prayers loses Ninth Circuit court round.  A former high school football coach in Washington state who is fighting a school district's ban on post-game prayers with his players that cost him his job, has lost his latest court battle.  In the decision, a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco appeared to accuse former Bremerton High School coach Joe Kennedy of seeking publicity rather than divine intervention.  "Kennedy's attempts to draw nationwide attention to his challenge to the District showed that he was not engaging in private prayer," Judge Milan Smith wrote, according to Q13 FOX in Seattle.

CA Dept of Ed voting on curriculum that would encourage students to chant to Aztec god of sacrifice.  The California Department of Education (CDE) is set to vote on a new ethnic studies curriculum that reportedly calls for the "decolonization" of society in America and encourages students to chant to the Aztec god of human sacrifice.  The curriculum will focus on "social consciousness" and cultures that have allegedly not gotten enough attention in textbooks.  That would include "African American, Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander studies," according to the CDE.  "By affirming the identities and contributions of marginalized groups in our society, ethnic studies helps students see themselves and each other as part of the narrative of the United States," the overview states.

Aztec worship chants now proposed for California public schools.  Leftists in education are always cooking up bad ideas of what's to be taught in schools, but here's one that arguably takes the cake. [...] So much for separation of church and state.  That's a religious chant to someone else's religion.  Their plan is to literally foist that "faith," if you can call it that, onto California's schoolchildren, many of whom already have religions of their own from their families.  So much for the usual claptrap out of this bunch about all cultures being alike.  This one is being favored and taught as theological indoctrination.  Worse still, it's as repellent and abhorrent a religion as such things come.  The Aztecs, as these clowns choose to ignore, had a religion commanding human sacrifice, cannibalism, and conquest.  Like pretty much every ancient culture, the ancient Aztecs had examples of civilizational greatness, but religion was not one of them. [...] The Aztecs were the ISIS of their age in terms of cruelty and the quest for power.  And not just ripping hearts out and stacking human skulls.  They also did a lot of cannibalism. [...] Bottom line is, they've chased God and the founding fathers from our public schools, but now they need to replace it.  They chose their religion, imposed it on others, and violated the separation of church and state.

George Mason U. professor finds Bible, reports it to 'bias' hotline.  In November 2019, a George Mason University professor stumbled upon a Bible and an accompanying CD in her classroom.  The professor collected the items and immediately reported the items to the school's Bias Incident Reporting Team, which classified the episode as "discrimination" and "harassment" against "religion."  The professor accompanied her report with photographs of the Bible, and the items were collected by the Bias Team.  The incident was one of 12 filed with the school's bias reporting website between January 1, 2019 and January 1, 2020 and obtained by The College Fix through an open records law request.  The documents provided by the university were redacted to protect the privacy of students involved.

Humanist group sues school district for allowing 'missionaries' to teach about Christianity.  According to the lawsuit, a class simply called "missionaries" had been held once a month at Maryetta Public School with the knowledge of the Maryetta Public School District.  The class was placed on the school calendar and in email announcements.  During the session, three men sang songs and played games with the children, while teaching the students about the Bible.  The plaintiff parents state that their daughter was subjected to the classes without their foreknowledge and without the ability to opt out.  The parents identify as humanists and are raising their daughter accordingly.

School Forces 9-Year-Old Girl To Remove 'Jesus Loves Me' Mask.  Parents File Federal Lawsuit.  In early October, a nine-year-old Christian Mississippi girl who wore a "Jesus Loves Me" mask to school was forced to remove it and replace it with one the school approved.  On Monday [11/2/2020], her parents, Matthew and Jennifer Booth, filed a federal lawsuit alleging religious discrimination.  The lawsuit notes that the school's "Religious Speech Policy prohibits messages on masks that are 'political, religious, sexual or inappropriate symbols, gestures or statements that may be offensive, disruptive or deemed distractive to the school environment."  The lawsuit states that the censorship of the student's religious message, and the "Religious Speech Policy and practice on which that censorship is based, violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution."

School district retroactively changes policy to justify ban on 'Jesus Loves Me' mask: lawsuit.  A Mississippi elementary school retroactively banned religious expression on face masks a day after ordering a student to remove her "Jesus Loves Me" mask, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday [11/2/2020] against the school district, board of education and individual officials.  Online metadata show the mask policy was modified less than an hour after Lydia Booth's mother called the school demanding to know why she was required to remove her religious mask the previous day. [...] The Booths claim that students and faculty have been observed wearing masks with expressive messages such as "Black Lives Matter" and the logos of the New Orleans Saints and Jackson State University.

Evangelicals and Their Belief in an Afterlife Are KILLING Us, Says Harvard Professor.  First it was the New York Times claiming that Christians and their "science denialism" were sending us to "coronavirus hell."  Now, perhaps missing the irony that atheistic China visited COVID-19 upon the world, a Harvard professor has blamed Christians for exacerbating the pandemic, calling belief in an afterlife "a malignant delusion" that "devalues actual lives and discourages action that would make them longer, safer, and happier."  None of this is surprising coming from Harvard University cognitive scientist Steven Pinker, who, according to American Thinker, cites the Bible as an example of "pre-modern cruelty."

Harvard Prof. Blames Christianity's 'Malignant' Belief in Afterlife for Lockdown Protests.  Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker said Thursday that the push for reopening society from lockdowns comes from Christianity's "malignant delusion" of belief in an afterlife.  Atheists who believe in this life alone are more concerned with health and safety, Professor Pinker suggested in a Tweet, while Christians tend to devalue "actual lives" and live a riskier existence.

Purging Christian Higher Education.  Rooting out political heretics is a practice we now associate with liberal secular universities, despite pretenses of "academic freedom" and claims to protect it with the lifelong employment guarantee known as "tenure."  But today, the practice appears just as likely at conservative Christian institutions.  In fact, we may now be seeing a nationwide purge of the ideologically retrograde from Evangelical colleges, universities, and seminaries, as they succumb to pressure to jettison Christian principles and substitute political ideology.  Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) just fired four of its most senior faculty members, all full professors.  Some have active publication records that put them at the forefront of their profession, elevated their institution's profile, and made them respected public voices for the seminary's professed values.  The pretext was budget cuts, but no reputable institution dismisses its most eminent faculty in their prime to save money.

Rutgers professor tells student not to cite the Bible in essays because of the 'separation of church and state'.  A Rutgers University-New Brunswick professor told a student that he should not quote Bible verses in essays because of the "separation of church and state," Campus Reform reported.  The professor also added that the Bible "may not be for everyone" and its use in academic papers may be offensive to some, including "a Muslim or Jewish person."

Public Schools Are Not Christmas-Free Zones.  Some children in public schools are able to share the excitement of Christmas with classmates, others are not.  Misunderstandings about the whole issue of faith in public schools make headlines every December.  Schools displaying nativity scenes, singing Christmas music and even presenting "Charlie Brown's Christmas" are threatened with expensive lawsuits by groups working to keep Americans free from religion.  Misapplied claims of violation of the separation of church and state have even been known to prevent a teacher from using red and green decorative paper on a bulletin board.

Federal Appeals Court Rules Ban on Pre-Game Prayer Violates Free Speech.  A federal court has partially reversed a lower court's decision to prohibit prayers being broadcast on loudspeakers ahead of Christian schools' sporting events, ruling that the ban violated free speech and free exercise rights.  The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) rule prohibited prayer at the Citrus Bowl prior to a state championship game between two Christian schools.  In Wednesday's [11/13/2019] decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit ruled that Cambridge Christian School's argument has merit and litigation could continue, a press release from the First Liberty Institute, which is representing the school, said.

Midshipmen Establish Study Group for Satanic Temple Beliefs at US Naval Academy.  Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy who have beliefs associated with The Satanic Temple now have a study group available to them, according to the military institution.  A space for a study group at the academy, located in Annapolis, Md., was requested by students with "beliefs aligned with those practiced by The Satanic Temple" so they could gather and share their views, according to a statement issued Thursday [10/31/2019] by Cmdr.  Alana Garas, a Naval Academy spokeswoman.

A Federal Judge Rebukes a University for its 'Ludicrous' Anti-Christian Discrimination.  Last week, "A federal court ruled University of Iowa officials must pay out of their own pockets for discriminating against a prominent Christian student group, calling the university's conduct 'ludicrous' and 'incredibly baffling' during a hearing last week."  The issue was that the university had no problem allowing secular groups on campus to make specific requirements about who could be in leadership.  But when it came to a Christian group, to do so was considered discriminatory.  Thankfully, Judge Stephanie M. Rose of the U.S. District Court recognized that it was the university that was being discriminatory, holding the officials personally responsible.

Fed judge:  OK for student to hand out cards with Bible messages.  Common sense experienced an increasingly rare victory in the courts this week.  Citing the First Amendment, a federal judge in Green Bay sided with a Northeast Wisconsin Technical College student who was told to stop sharing Valentine's Day cards containing Bible messages like "Jesus Loves You!" and "God is Love!"  Polly Olsen filed a lawsuit against the college last year after a school official told her she was in violation of school policy in distributing the cards, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.  She was told by a security official she was "disturbing the learning environment."

When Faith Comes Up, Students Avert Their Eyes.  In college classrooms, where almost anything is up for discussion, religious ideas are met with awkward silence.

Ohio school scrubs 92-year-old Ten Commandments plaque after atheists complain.  An Ohio middle school removed a 1920s-era Ten Commandments plaque after the Freedom From Religion Foundation complained about it.  The Wisconsin-based group that promotes separation of church and state and nontheism called the Joseph Welty Middle School plaque a "flagrant violation" of the First Amendment.  The group claims a concerned district parent complained to FFRF that the plaque was prominently displayed near the auditorium entrance of the New Philadelphia, Ohio school.

UC Santa Cruz Will Remove 'Offensive' Bells from Campus.  UC Santa Cruz has announced that it will remove historic bells from the "Spanish Missions" after members of the community called them offensive.  According to a report by Campus Reform, the University of California, Santa Cruz, will remove a major historical artifact from campus.  The reason?  Many in the UC Santa Cruz community argued that the artifact is offensive.  The "Spanish Mission" bells were used between 1769 and 1833 to highlight the path of the 21 California Missions, which were constructed to evangelize Native Americans.

Star Parker:  Christians Should Be Outraged About Schools Silencing Conservative Christians.  Star Parker, founder and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, recently appeared on Fox News to talk about her canceled speaking engagement at a Christian university in Minnesota.  The University of Northwestern rejected conservative student Hayley Tschetter's request to bring Star to campus to talk about abortion.  We know how courageous Star Parker is, and Tschetter is displaying some courage of her own.  She started a chapter of the Young Americans for Freedom on her campus.  But now the school is trying to shut down the group.

Nebraska school that declared candy canes 'too religious' pulls yearbook with Christian symbol.  Fifth graders at an Omaha, Neb. school voted to put inspirational words shaped like a cross on the front cover of their yearbook.  The cross-shaped design featured words like love, imagine, dream, and faith.  But several weeks after Manchester Elementary School printed its yearbook, an issue was raised about the religious imagery — before the commemorative books had been placed in students' hands.

Ted Cruz threatens legal action against Yale Law School for policy that 'blacklists Christian organizations'.  Sen. Ted Cruz is opening an investigation into Yale Law School for what he claims is discrimination against students with "traditional Christian views" and threatened legal action if they do not cooperate.  The Texas Republican sent a letter, dated Thursday [4/4/2019], to Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken notifying her that he will investigate a new law school policy which Cruz said stems from "unconstitutional animus and a specific discriminatory intent both to blacklist Christian organizations and to punish Yale students whose values or religious faith lead them to work there."  Cruz believes that Yale's policy change could deny financial assistance to students based on the religious affiliation of the organization for which they choose to work.

Ohio student suspended after posting Bible verses around school: 'I wanted to spread the word of God'.  A high school student in Ohio is speaking out after she was suspended for posting Bible verses in her school in response to LGBT pride flags displayed in hallways.  Gabby Helsinger, a Lebanon High School student, posted a video on Facebook Friday claiming she is being punished for "targeting" the school's Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club.  "On Thursday [3/7/2019] when I got to school, I see that there were pride flags, posters around my school," Gabby said in the video.  "And I felt the need to write down some Bible verses so I could put them around my school.  And I wrote them down and I put them around the lockers, the walls."

This is a teacher who is culturally illiterate, at the very least.
Teacher says she thought student's Ash Wednesday cross was 'dirt' and apologizes for making him wash it off.  A Utah teacher who forced her student to wash off the Ash Wednesday cross last week said she thought the Catholic marking was "dirt on his forehead" and claimed she didn't know it was a religious symbol.  Moana Patterson, a fourth-grade teacher at Valley View Elementary in Bountiful, apologized Monday for the incident last week, and explained why she had her student, 9-year-old William McLeod, wipe the ashes off his forehead, FOX 13 reported.  Patterson was placed on administrative leave as Davis School District officials investigate the incident.

Utah teacher forced student to wash off Ash Wednesday cross on forehead, family says.  A Utah elementary school teacher apologized to one of her Catholic students Wednesday [3/6/2019] — and may still face disciplinary action — after she forced him to wash off the Ash Wednesday cross on his forehead, the boy's family said.  William McLeod, a fourth grader at Valley View Elementary School, received the ash marking — made in the shape of a cross and applied by a priest — for the Catholic religious day that signals the start of the Lenten season and then went to school in Bountiful, Fox 13 reported.  He told Fox 13 he was the only student who had ashes.

From Roy Rogers to Infanticide.  When Roy Rogers was popular on TV, students still began their school day with a simple prayer for themselves, their parents, teachers and country.  In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that prayer and Bible reading in public school was unconstitutional which removed prayer from public school.  The consequences have been devastating.  Behavior and academic performance plummeted.  Pregnancies for girls 10-14 shot up 553%; student STDs up 226%.  Since removing biblical principles from public policy, divorce rates skyrocketed up 117%; single-parent households up 140%.  Since removing prayer, SAT scores declined for 18 consecutive years.  SAT scores for students in Christian private schools are almost 80% higher than public school.  Democrats successfully caused America to move on, rescuing students from the horror of beginning their day by humbly acknowledging their creator with a prayer.

Trump Says Bible Literacy Classes In School Are A 'Great' Idea.  He's Absolutely Right.  Here's Why.  For a change of pace, President Trump caused a controversy today.  He got the media and the Left hot and bothered this time around by lending his endorsement to Bible literacy classes. [...] Students, obviously, would not be required to affirm the doctrine of Biblical infallibility, nor would they be taught, or forced to accept, any moral prescription or supernatural claim made in the text.  The Bible would be presented as a literary work, and its historical context and impact would be examined from that perspective.  Why is this idea controversial?  Well, because we live in an aggressively stupid culture filled with nincompoops who think "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" means that schools have to ignore the very existence of religion.  The problem is that a well-rounded education divorced entirely from the Bible is impossible.

Supreme Court refusal to hear appeal of coach fired for praying is a blow to religious liberty.  The Supreme Court delivered a devastating blow to religious liberty Tuesday [1/22/2019] by refusing to take up a case involving a Washington state high school football coach who was fired after he took a knee to pray after a football game.  In 2015 Joe Kennedy was fired from his job as an assistant football coach at Bremerton High School in the Seattle area after he prayed at the conclusion of a game.  For eight years, the Marine veteran had made it a practice to walk onto the football field, take a knee at the 50-yard-line and deliver a 30-second prayer.  Players were never forced or encouraged to participate in the prayer.

Progressive Indoctrination in Church.  I became aware that the "Head Start" program for preschool children is not simply preparation for elementary school work when this federally funded program trickled into a church in Maine during Sunday School.  I was music director at the time (the 1980s), and the choir gathered in the church's assembly hall before the start of each Sunday service, as children gathered for their Sunday session.  Wittingly or not, the church had allowed a de facto collusion between secular and sacred teaching.  Unsuspecting families were in fact exposing their children to ideas more in line with paganism than with Christianity.  It was a subtle form of indoctrination.  I was not amused when I saw, among the children's playthings, dolls of both sexes that were "anatomically correct."  Parents who might justifiably object to this public display of what was formerly a private matter were out of luck.  Unmistakable evidence of tampering with Christian doctrine came during the Sunday School lessons.  Children were being made to understand that Jesus was not at all different from you or me, that He was simply an extra-nice and loving man.  The Christian tenets that He is the Son of God, divine, and without sin were details left out of the narrative.

Florida teenager pulled gun on praying high school football team, police say.  Members of a Florida high school football team were terrified when a former student reportedly pulled a gun on them while they were praying near the school's entrance.  Police said players from Palm Beach Lakes High School were praying at about 3:15 p.m.  Monday [10/22/2018] by a tree near an exit of the school when a silver four-door car headed toward them. [...] The players reportedly told him to "chill" and said they would move when they were done with their prayer.  It was at this point that the driver — later identified as 19-year-old Xavier Martin — allegedly got out of his car and threatened to shoot them.

Conservative Christians Unwelcome at the University of Oklahoma.  Last month, the campus newspaper at the University of Oklahoma, the O.U. Daily, began a systematic attack on law professor Brian McCall for his religious and social views.  Once an average college newspaper, in recent years, the Daily has degenerated into a publication entirely devoted to promoting radical leftist ideology.  The young staff live in an anxious and insecure world permeated with racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, inequality, and social injustice.

College Administrator Forced Out for Conservative Religious Views.  In a brazen act of irrational discrimination against an administrator, simply because of his religious views expressed in a book that he had written, the University of Oklahoma Law School removed Brian McCall late last week from his post as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. [...] McCall will retain his teaching position (for now).  Apparently, he did not express any of these views in the classroom, nor did he display any discriminatory viewpoint against anyone who did not follow these views.  McCall's personal religious views only came to light when a student journalist, Drew Hutchinson, wrote two articles about them in the college newspaper.

School faces attack over post-game prayer for coach's daughter.  It's a mighty sad day in America when professional football players can take a knee to protest the national anthem, but high school football players can't take a knee to pray for a sick little girl.  Football fans, coaches and players in Lake City, Michigan, formed what they called a "family circle" on the field August 30 to pray for the young daughter of one of the coaches.  The little girl is hospitalized fighting a serious illness. [...] A video of the poignant moment was shared on a school Facebook page and soon after it triggered a severe microaggression among a gang of atheists, agnostics and freethinkers based in Wisconsin.

UW-Madison students demand more inclusive ice cream.  Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are demanding more "inclusive" ice cream at the university-owned Babcock Hall Dairy Store, arguing that current ingredients in some of the store's products are discriminatory toward certain religions.  Eight members of the Associated Students of Madison put forth a resolution last week declaring that Babcock ice cream, which uses beef gelatin, discriminates against the school's Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and vegetarian communities.  The resolution, titled "Ice Cream for All," would formally demand that the university administration "acknowledge the marginalization of having the official campus Ice Cream not be inclusive to religious students on campus."

Kountze Cheerleaders Win Again at Texas Supreme Court.  Last Friday [8/31/2018] in a victory for the religious liberty of students, the Texas Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by Kountze ISD (TX) of an earlier decision protecting the right of cheerleaders to have Bible verses on run-through football banners.  The Texas Supreme Court originally ruled in favor of the Kountze Cheerleaders in an 8-0 decision in 2016.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz had also filed briefs in support of the cheerleaders at the Texas Supreme Court.

Get Your Kids Out of Government Schools, Right Now, Today.  The situation in government schools is dire and getting direr every year.  All parents, whatever their circumstance, must consider the danger government schools present to the souls of their children and even the soul of our country.  Activist/author Mary Rice Hasson and philosopher Theresa Farnan get this exactly right in their important new book Get Out Now:  Why You Should Pull Your Child from Public School Before It's Too Late. [...] Hassan and Farnan tell the story of James Corbett, a California science teacher who was fond of attacking Christianity in the classroom.  He told the kids that putting on "Jesus glasses" would blind Christians to scientific truth.  He told them that believing in God was as ridiculous as believing in a "gigantic spaghetti monster living behind the moon."  Fed-up parents finally took the case to court and were told by a judge that his classroom behavior was "appropriate and legitimate."  Hassan and Farnan show how government schools can be a one-way ticket for your kids to leave the Church.

Christians Furious to Find Student Punished for 'Jesus Loves You' Valentines.  Spread across three campuses in Green Bay, Marinette, and Sturgeon Bay, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) — where students earn two-year associate degrees — is not a likely setting for a constitutional showdown.  Earlier this week, however, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) filed a federal lawsuit against NWTC over an alleged violation of a student's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. [...] The legal brief Campus Reform obtained says that Polly Olsen, a student at NWTC, sued her school on Tuesday [9/4/2018] for what she termed an "unconstitutional" public assembly policy.

Toxic Humanism.  By the time our youngest child got to middle school, the intensifying toxic indoctrination of false humanism made it hard for her and other pubescent children to accept their richer heritage and deeper moral orientation.  Routine exposure to a worldview that contradicts home training regarding basics of right and wrong, replacing Judeo-Christian morality with do what you want ("situation ethics," which in reality is no ethics), is a hazard to the mental and emotional development of a child.  The problem has led many to homeschool their children and many to fight the culture wars.

Texas cheerleaders win a victory for freedom of religious expression.  There are two hard and fast rules in life: don't mess with Texas and don't mess with Texas cheerleaders.  The Kountze Independent School District in southeast Texas has learned that lesson the hard way.  The Texas Supreme Court on Friday [8/31/2018] refused to hear the school district's appeal of a case involving Bible verses written by cheerleaders on run-through banners displayed at Kountze High School football games.  The action by the state's highest court all but ends a more than five-year legal battle that garnered support from Texas' two Republican U.S. senators, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn.

Pastor under fire for high school football devotional.  [I]t was not all that unusual when the head coach of the Waldron High School football team invited the young preacher and former team member to deliver a devotional on June 13 at a regional summer football camp.  "I was invited to share an encouraging word with the football team," McKay said on "The Todd Starnes Radio Show."  "I used Scripture and shared a message about teamwork — how to work together in life."  His remarks were so inspirational that the local newspaper wrote a brief report and published a photograph of the young preacher addressing the players.  But the Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Wisconsin, was not so complimentary of McKay's remarks.  The Wisconsin-based group of atheists, agnostics and free-thinkers, was enraged by the devotional and accused the preacher of proselytizing.  They fired off a letter to at least one of the schools in attendance at the football camp — accusing the district of an "unconstitutional endorsement of religion."

The Editor says...
Endorsement of religion (in general) is not the same as the establishment of a (specific) state religion.

School district tells coach, 'If you talk to God, you're fired'.  First Liberty Institute attorney Michael Berry said Bremerton High School in Washington State picked on the wrong Marine.  First Liberty is representing Joe Kennedy, a Marine and former assistant football coach at the local high school.  Kennedy was fired in 2015 after he took a knee to pray after a football game.

Valedictorian Claims High School Censored Graduation Speech.  An Illinois high school valedictorian has hired a lawyer after claiming that school officials demanded he remove all religious references from his graduation speech.  Sam Blackledge was set to deliver the speech at West Prairie High School on May 19.  According to the 18-year-old, school administrators informed him that he needed to take out anything that mentioned God and Jesus minutes before Blackledge was scheduled to go on stage.

Valedictorian Releases Graduation Speech Banned by School.  Sam Blackledge was told just ten minutes before graduation that he would not be permitted to deliver his valedictory address because it was too religious.  "They said they didn't want to make it a religious ceremony," Sam said on the Todd Starnes Radio Show.  "They told me that if I took out Christ I could say everything else."

Minnesota Democrats wage war on God, faith and American history.  The further we've moved away from God in our schools, the more he's been replaced by the extreme indoctrination of our kids with teaching and programs that completely undercut what families teach their children at home.  Nobody seems to care that parents are offended that many schools are no longer interested in partnering with them and instead are undermining them as the primary authority in the lives of their children.  Political correctness has infected schools to the point where priorities are out of whack.  Our schools lack the security they desperately need, teachers are underpaid, and yet politicians ignore these real issues and, instead, pick fights with people of faith.

Minnesota Dems offended by national motto 'In God We Trust' in schools.  From the party that booed God at its 2012 national convention, we learn that two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota oppose the national motto, "In God We Trust," being displayed in schools in the state.  State Sens. Scott Dibble and John Marty voiced their opposition to the phrase on the floor of the upper chamber, Fox News reported.  The legislation's author, Republican state Sen. Dan Hall, told the "Fox & Friends" crew Sunday [5/6/2018] he was caught by surprise by the rejection from the Democrats.

Kent State student group hosts panel asking 'Is Christianity the white man's religion?'.  "The problems of Christianity" and "white Jesus" were on the agenda during a controversial panel discussion at Ohio's Kent State University on Tuesday [4/17/2018] [.]  Over 100 students attended the "Is Christianity the White Man's Religion?" event.  KSU spokesman, Eric Mansfield, told Fox News the panel was sponsored by a student organization that chose the speakers on the panel and followed all university guidelines.

Twin Cities School Bus Driver Removed after Leading Prayer.  A Twin Cities-area school bus driver says his rights to free speech and to practice his religion were violated when he was taken off his route for leading students in prayer.  The Star Tribune reports that Quality Care Transportation removed George Nathaniel from his route last week.  He drove children to Nasha Shkola, a charter school focused on Russian language and culture.  Quality Care owner Muk Musa says school officials received complaints that Nathaniel was forcing minors to pray.

Teacher Fails Straight A Student For Not Denying God.  Something awful is taking place in America today.  During most of U.S. history, if someone was clearly of another faith, basic curiosity may have led to questions being asked, but no one cared.  What is happening in these post-modern times is that people who worship God in any way are being mistreated, talked down to, and are even seeing their First Amendment rights come under fire, as Faith Reel revealed today [4/19/2018].

Religion Prof Thinks Believing In God Is Illogical And Immoral.  A Wake Forest University religion professor thinks it is not just illogical to believe in God, but also immoral, according to a Wednesday report.  Dr. Jarrod Whitaker specializes in South Asian religions at the North Carolina school and also allegedly asserted that belief in an objective truth "is the most tremendous evil that is responsible for all the great suffering in the world," reported The Wake Forest Review.  The professor would perpetually "explain why Christian theology is problematic, racist, sexist, imperialist, and fundamentally evil," Whitaker's Catholic student John told the Review, who kept his identity concealed.  "His point was specifically that Christianity is in a position of power, everything came down to who is in a position of power and how we can problematize [sic] that."

The Editor says...
A religion professor who opposes theology is a problem, but there's another problem here, too:  Making verbs out of nouns and nouns out of verbs.  One can imagine what problematize might mean, but the simple fact is that's not a word.

University Hosts Post-Easter Workshop to Combat 'Christian Privilege'.  George Washington University is hosting a diversity workshop to battle "Christian privilege" on Thursday of Easter Week at the school's Multicultural Student Services Center.  The training session for students and faculty proposes to educate Christians — especially white ones — concerning their "unmerited perks from institutions and systems all across our country," according to the ever-attentive folks at The College Fix.

'In God We Trust' removed from classroom after atheist parent's complaint.  A Wisconsin fourth grade school teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School removed "Christian symbolism" from her classroom after an atheist parent complained.  Among the items that caused offense — a cross, a poster that read, "In God We Trust" and a picture frame that included the American flag and the words "God Bless America."

What causes mass shootings and how we stop them.  From 1940 to 1962, the top complaints from school teachers were:  students talking in class, chewing gum and running in the halls.  Since 1963 to the present, school officials have dealt with rape, robbery, assault and shootings.  So what happened in 1963?  "One can argue, and some have, that the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court — in a series of three decisions back in 1962 and 1963 — to remove Bible and prayer from our public schools, may be the most spiritually significant event in our nation's history over the course of the last 55 years," said William Jeynes, a professor of education at California State University, Long Beach, and senior fellow at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, N.J.

Oxford University:  Delirious Capital of Political Correctness.  Oxford's students and professors are the leaders of a movement which, under the guise of "anti-racism", is closing the Western mind and killing the Western culture with dogmatism, tribalism, anti-intellectualism and groupthink.  All this indoctrinating has led only to a militant loathing of the Western past and a public revulsion for humanistic Western values, culture and the ability at least to try to correct our wrongs — as only the West does.  Students and professors are now unable to explain why a culture that treats women and men equally or that protects freedom of thought is superior to a culture that subjugates women and oppresses individual choice.  Oxford now preaches the cult of "diversity".  But the true diversity for which a university should fight — the diversity of opinion and thought — is continually eroded and often completely destroyed.

Texas school district wages legal war against Christian cheerleaders.  For the past six years a Texas school district has been waging legal warfare against a group of high school cheerleaders who wrote Bible verses on football run-through banners.  In October the Texas Ninth Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Kountze Independent School District cheerleaders — declaring the "cheerleaders' speech expressed on the run-through banners is best characterized as the pure private speech of the students."

Florida lawmakers consider requiring schools to post "In God we trust".  Contending Florida's school children need closer ties to the state's foundations, a state House subcommittee on Tuesday unanimously backed a bill to require the posting of the words "In God We Trust" in a "conspicuous place" at all public schools.  "It's important for our students to realize the civic history of our state, and one portion of that history is the fact that we do trust in God," said Rep. Ralph Massullo, a Citrus County Republican who is co-sponsoring the measure.

Swarthmore College offers a course in 'queering God'.  One of the nation's most prestigious liberal arts colleges is advancing a "queer theology" agenda with hopes of destabilizing traditional beliefs about what the Bible says about gender and sexuality.  Swarthmore College, founded by Quakers, is offering courses in "queering the Bible" and "queering God."  The courses were first reported by Campus Reform.  "Queering the Bible" is a one-credit class that surveys "queer and trans readings of biblical texts."

Louisiana mom, ACLU claim school district promoted Christianity.  A Louisiana parent is suing her daughter's school district, alleging it is violating the Constitution by "promoting and inculcating Christian religious beliefs."  The lawsuit was filed Monday [12/18/2017] by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in federal district court in Louisiana.  It documents more than 30 alleged incidents at Webster Parish School District facilities in northwest Louisiana.  "So engrained is official promotion of religion at Webster Parish schools that virtually all school events — such as sports games, pep rallies, assemblies, and graduation ceremonies — include school-sponsored Christian prayer, religious messages and/or proselytizing," the lawsuit stated.

Christian students claim school told them to 'revise' beliefs.  A Christian student group has filed a lawsuit against the University of Iowa, alleging that the school tried to make it "revise" its Statement of Faith before reinstating its official status.  A member of the group had claimed in 2016 that he was denied a leadership position in the group for being openly gay, a charge the group denies, saying the student was turned down because he rejected the group's core beliefs.

Nevada church wrongly barred from flier handouts at school district, legal watchdog says.  A cadre of attorneys has asked a Nevada school district to reverse their decision in preventing a church from sharing fliers with their students for community events.  The lawyers with First Liberty Institute and Michigan-based law firm Lipson Neilson sent a letter to the Lyon County School District in Yerington, Nevada, and demanded that they allow their client, Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley, to have equal participation rights in the school's community flyer distribution plan.  The district allows all other sorts of community organizations to hand out fliers to both parents and students about extracurricular events and activities, but a new policy has forced Calvary to remove all religious references or stop distribution altogether.

Public grade school shuts down 'illegal' Bible study.  Thou shall not study thy Bible — at least not during lunchtime.  That's the new commandment at Hudsonville Elementary School in Michigan.  The school district shut down a lunchtime Bible study for fifth graders that was led by a teacher.  "The teacher (who thought the Bible discussion was appropriate because it was during lunch and voluntary) immediately put an end to these lunch meetings," Hudsonville Public Schools wrote in a statement to television station WOOD.  "We will continue to communicate and educate staff at all levels on the District's policies related to religion in schools."

Who Are the Real Fascists in American Politics?  [Scroll down]  For the National Socialists, the good of the state is supreme and all Christian creeds are subordinate to the highest values which Hitler's party claimed to uphold as being the values of the entire community of blood Germans.  Thus, the Democrats have no problem booing even the word "God" at their convention.  Christian beliefs in a God-given and God-driven morality is demoted to being a mere creed and thus subordinate to the all-knowing "moral sense" of the state.  The creed-bearers must be suppressed and/or silenced.  Prayer is to be abolished from the public square because it is a mere creed.  In the schools, it is thus okay for a teacher to tell Johnny not to hit Jack, but it is mere creedalism to say that Jesus Christ said "Love your neighbor as yourself."

McKinney ISD superintendent faces criticism for leading prayer during convocation.  For nearly three months, McKinney ISD has been dealing with a prayer problem.  A group of parents furious over the superintendent leading a prayer back in August continued their fight during Tuesday's school meeting.  There have also been complaints about religious displays in classrooms.  The topic was not on the agenda, but a select group of parents were so upset about it that they showed up and signed up to speak about it during public comment.  The district says it is reevaluating prayer at school events and hosting school events at churches.

School District Orders Coaches to Stop Bowing Heads in Prayer.  Heaven help the coach who bows his head to pray in Coweta County, Georgia.  The Coweta County School District issued an edict banning all coaches and other employees from participating in student-initiated or student-led prayer or other forms of worship while acting in their official capacity.

Government hostility to religion spiked under Obama, new report finds.  It's hard to believe American teenagers could be arrested for delivering a prayer, but that's the kind of nation we live in — a nation that was fundamentally transformed by the previous presidential administration.  In 2011, the class president at Hampton High School in Tennessee wanted to deliver a pray at graduation.  The principal issued an edict that any child who attempted to pray would be stopped, escorted from the building by police and arrested.  That incident was one of dozens included in a stunning new Family Research Council report documenting a significant upsurge in government hostility to religion.

Left Panics Because Kentucky Schools Can Now Teach (Gasp!) The Bible.  On Tuesday [6/27/2017], Gov. Matt Bevin signed House Bill 128, which gives Kentucky public schools the right to teach the first book ever taught in America — the Bible.  Let's move beyond the dizzying fact that in less than 100 years we've gone from a society where a well-rounded education could not possibly omit the Bible, to a place where such a legislative act is necessary.  The American progressive left doesn't want the Bible taught because that might make kids Biblically literate, and able to actually argue morality on merits versus by rote adherence to liberal tropes.

Christian Preschoolers Banned from Saying 'Amen', Talking About the Bible.  Children at a Christian preschool in Sweden are no longer allowed to say grace at mealtimes, "Amen", or talk about the Bible, after a ruling by the Umeå municipality.  Visiting the preschool for an inspection, supervisors from the district said the activities run contrary to the Education Act, which forbids educational content during school time from containing confessional elements, and states that children at must always have the choice of whether or not to participate.

Prayerful Coach Just Wants His Job Back.  A high school football coach who lost his position because he prayed after games is fighting for his constitutional rights.  "My hope is that, at the end of the day, the court will let me get back to the sidelines and back with my team," said Joe Kennedy, a former coach at Bremerton High School in Washington State, according to his lawyers, who fought for him in court on Monday [6/12/2017].

School: You may not recite prayer in the name of Jesus Christ.  Moriah Bridges wanted to thank God for His immeasurable blessings on Beaver High School's graduating class.  But she could not, because it was against the law.  The Pennsylvania teenager wanted to offer thanksgiving to the Almighty for parents and coaches and teachers.  But again, she could not, because it was against the law.  "Make us selfless.  Make us just.  Make us successful people, but more than that, make us good people," Moriah wanted to pray.  But that too, was determined to be unlawful.  This is the America — the land of the free, the home of the brave.  But it is also a place where a young teenager girl is not permitted to mention the name of Jesus Christ or anything remotely religious in a graduation speech at a public high school.

Educator punished for graduation prayer, referencing Jesus.  Dr. Kent Medlin is known around Willard, Missouri, as one of those guys who speaks from his heart.  For the past 14 years, he's been the superintendent of schools.  He's a good man, a Christian man.  Last May, Dr. Medlin delivered an address during commencement exercises at Willard High School.  And being a Christian man, it was not all that surprising when he referenced the Bible and the Lord and invited folks to join him in prayer.

Boy's graduation speech pulled over Christian content.  The small town of Akin, Illinois is the heartbeat of the heartland.  It's a place where the crops are bountiful and so are the patriots.  They don't even have a post office in Akin — but they do have a church.  And around this part of the country, church is what folks do.

Bible reading not allowed before class, professor tells student .  It's apparently okay to read history books at Northern Arizona University, but not the Good Book.  Mark Holden, a 22-year-old history major, tells me he was ordered to leave a lecture hall after his professor objected to him reading the Bible before the start of the class.  Holden alleges that Professor Heather Martel ordered him to put away the Good Book around six minutes before a scheduled history class.

Teacher Forbids Students From Wearing Cross in Class.  [Math teacher Lora Jane] Riedas justifies her action by characterizing the Holy Cross as a "gang symbol."  Similarly, educrats have justified silencing Christians by denouncing anything they might have to say as "fighting words."  According to a student, Riedas considers wearing a cross in her classroom to be "disrespectful," and therefore forbids it.

Teacher Allegedly Banned Students From Wearing Crosses.  A high school teacher in Tampa, Fla., has allegedly banned at least three students from wearing Christian cross necklaces, according to a letter sent to the superintendent of the school district.  Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation group that promotes religious freedom, in a letter to Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Eakins detailed math teacher Lora Jane Riedas' actions.  The letter claims Riedas told at least three students they could not wear their Christian crosses.

'Adam and Eve' lesson gets teacher cast out of religious school.  An argument over Adam and Eve between a city-paid teacher and third-graders at a private Muslim school has landed the instructor in pedagogical purgatory, The [New York] Post has learned.  English teacher Nina Kossman committed the sin of "telling the truth," she said of her expulsion from the Razi School in Woodside, Queens, which uses taxpayer-funded city Department of Education teachers in a federally-mandated program for poor kids.  Kossman infuriated parents by telling their children that Adam is "not real."  She noted that Judaism, Christianity and Islam share the myth, thinking it would "help build up tolerance" for other faiths.

First Amendment controversy brews over Texas high school's prayer room.  A Texas high school's on-site prayer room — which serves as a spot where Muslim students can pray — is stirring controversy.  Liberty High School in Frisco established the room in 2009, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is concerned that the room may be off-limits to students of other religious denominations.  He said in a letter Friday to the school district that any exclusion would be inconsistent with the First Amendment's protection of religious liberty.

After School Satan Club' Gets Tax Exempt Status in 10 Days.  The Internal Revenue Service granted an "After School Satan Club" their tax exempt status.  The approval process for the group's non-profit status took only 10 days, according to records obtained by Judicial Watch on Friday [3/17/2017].  The satanic club was started by Reason Alliance, a Somerville, Mass. based non-profit organization that operates the Satanic Temple of Seattle.  The director of Reason Alliance, Lilith X. Starr, founded the club at Point Defiance Elementary in Tacoma, Wash.  The Point Defiance Elementary Satanic club is run by adults that have been cleared by the "Executive Ministry" of the Seattle Satanic Temple.  The group is focused on children from 5-12 and is intended to develop character, problem solving, critical reasoning, and other qualities.

Mom sues to stop Bible study classes in West Virginia schools.  A kindergartner's mother is suing her public school system in West Virginia, asking that it discontinue a 75-year practice of putting kids in Bible classes that violate the U.S. and state constitutions.  The woman, identified as "Jane Doe" in the federal lawsuit backed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, says her child will be forced either to take these weekly classes at her Mercer County elementary school or face ostracism as one of the few children who don't.  Her daughter is called "Jamie" in the suit.  "Jamie will either be forced to attend Bible indoctrination classes against the wishes and conscience of Jane Doe, or Jamie will be the only or one of only a few children who do not participate," the lawsuit says.

If You Are Too Triggered by Lessons About the Crucifixion, You Cannot Be a Religious Scholar.  Students in a Bible course at the University of Glasgow are being given trigger warnings before being shown images of the crucifixion — and permission to skip those lessons altogether if they are worried they'll feel too uncomfortable.  Predictably, much of the conversation surrounding this has been focused on the cultural implications of the policy, and how it contributes to creating a generation of weak little snowflakes.  Of course, that discussion is relevant. [...] But the problems with this policy go far beyond the abstract cultural implications.  It's also objectively, indisputably wrong on a logical level — because receiving credits for a class signifies that you have learned enough about the subject matter to earn those credits, and no student in an introductory Bible course could meet that qualification without having learned about the crucifixion.  The crucifixion may be a traumatic Biblical event, but it is also arguably the most monumental one.

Democrats Won't Fix Their Religion Problem Any Time Soon.  "If we let those Christian groups stay on campus, how can we keep out the Klan?"  Defend religious liberty in higher education, and that is the question you'll be forced to answer.  I've heard it every year at least once for the last 16 years, since I first defended a Christian student group, at Tufts University in 2000.  The problem, you see, is that Christian groups stubbornly wish to be led by Christians, and at hundreds of universities they have refused to sign pledges or conform to policies that mandate that they not even consider a candidate's religious faith when that person seeks to run a campus Christian fellowship.  In radical eyes, imposing faith-based litmus tests is mere subterfuge, the benign-sounding pretext that masks homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny.

Oklahoma University Accommodates Muslim Prayer, but not Christian prayer.  The University of Oklahoma has opened a new reflection room to host Muslim students wishing to pray during the day, giving them a sense of belonging and welcome.  "Prayer is very important to me.  It's my priority to pray on time every day," Maeen Alqohaif, a mechanical engineering junior, told The Oklahoma Daily on Monday, December 5.  "This room is very convenient because I come (to the library) to study, and at the same time I don't have to go all the way home and pray.  I can just pray here."  Alqohaif used to pray between the narrow bookshelves in a corner of the Bizzell Memorial Library.  He later discovered a room on the second floor of the library, which was implemented at the request of the Muslim Student Association.

School censors "Charlie Brown Christmas" poster.  One of the most poignant scenes in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is when Linus stands on a stage and recites a passage from the Holy Bible describing the Christmas story.  "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the Lord.  That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown," Linus said. [...] The principal went on to explain that the poster violated the U.S. Constitution.  "She said my poster is an issue of separation of church and state," Ms. Shannon told me.  "She said the poster had to come down because it might offend kids from other religions or those who do not have a religion."

The Editor says...
[#1] The display of a poster in a public school does not constitute the establishment of a state religion.  [#2] The Constitution says nothing about the separation of church and state.  [#3] The Constitution makes no guarantee that you'll never be offended.

Texas attorney general drops a great big Yuletide truth bomb on school district.  Christmas in the Lone Star state has no greater defender than Attorney General Ken Paxton.  So when he read my column about a middle school in Killeen that tried to censor the true meaning of Christmas, he decided it was time to jingle somebody's bells.

Trump Meets High School Coach Who Lost [His] Job for Praying.  A former Washington state high school football coach who was fired for his post-game prayers attended a Donald Trump event today [10/3/2016].  Trump was discussing religious freedom when he brought up the case of Joe Kennedy and was notified that the former coach was actually in the audience.  The GOP candidate, speaking in Virginia at the Retired American Warriors PAC, asked Kennedy to stand up and explain what happened.  Kennedy explained that for eight years, he always kneeled at the 50-yard line after each Bremerton High School game and said a prayer.  But a year ago, he was told to stop the prayers and when he refused, he was suspended.

University's 'Hate Response Team' Called To Investigate 'Offensive' Christian Cross.  Students at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse called on the 'hate response team' to investigate two cases in which they were offended by something they saw on campus.  The 'hate response team' received reports of a student offended by flyers depicting a Christian cross, the La Crosse Tribune reported.  The student said the image represented "oppression and hate" against the LGBT community, Brit Hume said on On the Record.

Lawyer: After School Satan Club must be allowed to proceed.  A so-called "After School Satan Club" proposed by the Satanic Temple of Seattle to be held at Centennial Elementary School should be allowed to proceed, an attorney hired to represent the Mount Vernon School District said.  "I think that if the school district denied that application, you would face costly litigation that would be distracting from your mission," said Duncan Fobes of the Seattle-based law firm Patterson, Buchanan, Fobes and Leitch during a Wednesday [9/21/2016] meeting of the Mount Vernon School Board.  "And would ultimately be unsuccessful."  Fobes was hired by the district's risk-pool insurance group to assess whether the district had legal standing to deny the temple's application.

Obama's U.S. Military Academy Investigating West Point Football Team for Postgame Prayer.  Officials at President Obama's federally-controlled U.S. Military Academy has launched an investigation after a video showing the West Point football team engaged in a postgame prayer caused separation-of-church-and-state complaints.  West Point officials removed the video showing the team prayer, reporting that several outside groups complained when a video showing the celebration in the locker room after a recent 28-13 upset over Temple University depicted the players kneeling and ending a prayer with an "Amen" in unison.

Satanists Push Clubs for Elementary Schools.  [Satanists are] plotting to bring their wisdom to the nation's public elementary school children.  They point out that Christian evangelical groups already have infiltrated the lives of America's children through after-school religious programming in public schools, and they appear determined to give young students a choice:  Jesus or Satan.  "It's critical that children understand that there are multiple perspectives on all issues, and that they have a choice in how they think," said Doug Mesner, the Satanic Temple's co-founder.

An After School Satan Club could be coming to your kid's elementary school.  "It's critical that children understand that there are multiple perspectives on all issues, and that they have a choice in how they think," said Doug Mesner, the Satanic Temple's co-founder.  On Monday [8/1/2016], the group plans to introduce its After School Satan Club to public elementary schools, including one in Prince George's County, petitioning school officials to allow them to open immediately as the academic year starts.

Sunday Washington Post Hypes After School Satan Clubs.  On Sunday (the Sabbath, of course), The Washington Post took time out from prostrating itself before Hillary Clinton to give a boost to the Fallen Angel.  In a long. front page middle finger to Christians, the Post hyped the efforts of the Satanic Temple to introduce After School Satan Clubs to America's elementary schools.  Oh, don't worry.  The worldly secularists at the Post aren't suddenly practicing the occult.  "The Satanic Temple doesn't espouse a belief in the existence of a supernatural being that other religions identify solemnly as Satan, or Lucifer, or Beelzebub," author Katherine Stewart assures readers.  Goodness no!  They're far too postmodern and ironic for that.  "The Temple rejects all forms of supernaturalism and is committed to the view that scientific rationality provides the best measure of reality."

Faith-based schools in CA could be sued for their beliefs, college prez warns.  The president of William Jessup University claims that a bill pending in the California legislature would have a "devastating" impact on religious colleges by violating their religious liberty.  Dr. John Jackson points out that the bill would allow students to sue schools for imposing faith-related requirements, such as attending chapel or taking religion courses.

Democrats, LGBT activists' sinister plan to crack down on Christian schools.  If California Democrats have their way, Christian colleges and universities will no longer be allowed to require students attend chapel services or require them to profess a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Senate Bill 1146 would close a loophole that lawmakers say allows Christian universities to discriminate against students based on their gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.  "All students deserve to feel safe in institutions of higher education, regardless of whether they are public or private," said Senator Ricardo Lara, the author of the legislation.  "California has established strong protections for the LGBTQ community and private universities should not be able to use faith as an excuse to discriminate and avoid complying with state laws."

School sends sheriff to order child to stop sharing Bible verses.  A public school in California ordered a 7-year-old boy to stop handing out Bible verses during lunch — and they dispatched a deputy sheriff to the child's home to enforce the directive.  "This is a clear, gross violation of the rights of a child," said Horatio Mihet, a Liberty Counsel attorney representing the first-grader who attends Desert Rose Elementary School in Palmdale.  They are also representing his parents, Christina and Jaime Zavala.

Banned: School drops musical version of 'Lord's Prayer' from graduation.  A musical rendition of "The Lord's Prayer" has been performed at East Liverpool High School's commencement for nearly 70 years.  Lisa Ensinger performed the sacred song when she was a senior at the Ohio school in 1986.  "It's a tradition," she told me — a tradition that she continued when she became the high school's choir director.  But "The Lord's Prayer" will no longer be performed at graduation thanks to a meddling bunch of atheists, agnostics and free-thinkers from Wisconsin.

My Country Was of Thee.  We are a Christian culture.  Or we were.  Now all things Christian are fair game for ridicule, lawsuits, physical attack.  Not only are our school children being robbed of their opportunity to learn our Christian heritage, they are being assaulted on one hand with anti-Christian teaching in many of their classes, followed by Islamic propaganda.  The phrase separation of church and state masquerades as a constitutional statement applicable only to Christian concepts.  A student entering public school from an un-churched family could complete his entire education and never hear the name of Christ, never know His story, let alone His message.  He'll know who Mohammed was, but not Jesus.  This student, like our president, will have no idea what made this country the greatest nation the world has ever seen.

Harvard professor:  Start treating Christian conservatives like Nazis.  A Harvard law professor has called for liberals to begin treating like Nazis those who subscribe to Christian or conservative beliefs.  In a Friday [5/6/2016] blog post at Balkinization, Mark Tushnet said conservatives and Christians have lost the culture wars, and now the question is "how to deal with the losers."  "My own judgment is that taking a hard line ('You lost, live with it') is better than trying to accommodate the losers," he wrote.

Blasphemy is still permitted; in fact, it is now an art.
Alleged Jesus dartboard art stirs outrage at Rutgers.  An alleged "art display" at Rutgers University featuring a figure of Jesus Christ on a dartboard, with darts inserted where He was wounded on the Cross, is being held up as a contradiction of the school's professed commitment to diversity.  Natalie Caruso, who describes herself as a former Rutgers student, posted a photo to a Facebook group for the Class of 2016 showing the display, which she claimed is currently hanging in the Art Library on College Ave.

Art or sacrilege?  Rutgers removes controversial dartboard Jesus art exhibit.  Rutgers University officials removed a controversial art piece depicting a Jesus on a dartboard from a campus library Thursday after receiving complaints that the exhibit was offensive, school officials said.  The piece, which shows a figure of a crucified Jesus stabbed with four darts, was part of an exhibit in the Art Library on Voorhees Mall in the heart of the New Brunswick campus.  Some Rutgers students and alumni turned to Facebook to post photos of the art piece, called "Vitruvian Man," and demand it be taken down.

High school wants to shut down off-campus 'Jesus Lunch'.  There's a religious liberty standoff underway in Middleton, Wisconsin.  On one side is a group of Christian moms armed with Chick-fil-A sandwiches and 400 homemade brownies.  On the other side are public school administrators who believe that Jesus and plump juicy chicken breasts are "divisive.  The controversy surrounds an off-campus lunch event involving students at Middleton High School known as "Jesus Lunch.  The high school allows students to eat lunch off-campus.  In 2014 a small group of parents began meeting with their children in a nearby park — providing home cooked meals along with a Christian-themed, inspirational message.

Wisconsin school, parents at odds over 'Jesus lunches'.  School administrators are asking parents to stop hosting free lunches accompanied by discussions about Christianity outside a high school in Middleton, citing legal concerns.  A handful of parents have been organizing the noontime meetings, which students call "Jesus Lunches," outside Middleton High since 2014. As the meetings grew, organizers moved them to Fireman's Park across from the school.  Superintendent Donald Johnson and Principal Stephen Plank emailed the parents this week asking them to end the lunches.  They say the district leases the park during school hours, so its rules apply.  That includes rules about food safety and food preparation, food allergy procedures and visitor policies.

School superintendent, principal confront moms over 'Jesus Lunch'.  School administrators in Middleton, Wisconsin have intensified their threats and intimidation of a group of mothers who host a weekly "Jesus Lunch" for students at a park adjacent to Middleton High School.  New video shows school officials physically confronting one of the moms in the park — as one woman's stunned husband observes from a distance.  The moms were undeterred and told school officials they were going to serve lunch regardless of their objections.  "These ongoing attempts to suppress free speech by school officials are disgraceful," said Phillip Stamman, an attorney representing the moms.  "These mothers devote hours each week to serving the students with free meals and a brief message about Jesus.  They should not be bullied or harassed ... but praised."

Exclusive Video:  School administrators try to physically block parents from hosting 'Jesus Lunch'.  Middleton-Cross Plains school district officials are doing more than urging parents to stop serving "Jesus Lunches" to high school students at a public park every Tuesday.  They have been physically trying to block the parents from using the park.  School officials set up cones to block parents from using the parking lot at Fireman's Park, near Middleton High School, on Tuesday, according to Phil Stamman, an attorney who is representing the mothers involved with the Jesus Lunch program.  [Video clip]

The Editor says...
Does the school have exclusive rights to a public park?  Not likely.  What's more likely is the school administration is determined to suppress any discussion of Christianity.

Colorado School District to Begin Distribution of Satanic Materials to Children.  After coming under fire from atheist groups for the distribution of free Bibles, the Delta County School District (DCSD) has approved the circulation of atheistic, secular and Satanic literature to middle and high school students.  Several atheist organizations, including The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers (WCAF) and the Satanic Temple, applied to distribute their literature as a challenge to the school district's "open forum" policy that allows any group to distribute non-curricular literature to students, as long as it conforms to policy guidelines.

Public school kisses Valentine's Day goodbye.  The Baby Jesus, Tom Turkey and Cupid are about to be given the heave-ho at a Minnesota elementary school to be more inclusive of their ethnically diverse student population.  Bruce Vento Elementary School, in St. Paul, has decided to stop celebrating Valentine's Day along with other "dominant holidays" including Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Texas Supreme Court rules cheerleaders can display Bible verses on banners.  The Texas Supreme Court on Friday [1/29/2016] ruled in favor of high school cheerleaders who claimed that their free speech was being violated by their school district when it told them they couldn't display banners with Bible verses at football games.  The justices determined their ruling was still necessary even though the Kountze school district later allowed the banners.  The court said the decision will protect the future display of religious-themed signs because the district has argued it retains the right to restrict them.  The banners featured some Biblical verses such as, "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."  The ruling now goes to the appeals court that ruled in 2014 the cheerleaders' lawsuit was moot because the district changed its policy.

School Reminded Of Constitution, Reverses Private Prayer Ban.  A Wyoming school that told students they couldn't pray in the cafeteria has lifted the ban after a Christian legal group gave threatened legal action on constitutional grounds. [...] "School cafeterias are not religion-free zones, and they certainly do not involve captive audiences," ADF [Alliance Defending Freedom] said in a letter letter [sic] to the district. [...] [After the lawyers got involved,] The district sent a letter to ADF Thursday [12/17/2015] admitting their error and notifying the group that the students could resume praying.

Football coach suspended for midfield prayer files discrimination complaint.  One coach prayed to God.  Another coach chanted to Buddha.  But only one got punished — the Christian coach.  Joe Kennedy, a beloved assistant football coach in Bremerton, Washington, was suspended on Oct. 28 after he refused to stop his post-game prayers at the 50-yard line.  On Tuesday [12/15/2015], he filed a discrimination complaint against the school district, claiming the district did not punish the team's offensive coordinator for conducting Buddhist chants in a similar manner.

School principal bans Santa, Thanksgiving and Pledge of Allegiance.  Santa Claus is banned.  The Pledge of Allegiance is no longer recited.  "Harvest festival" has replaced Thanksgiving, and "winter celebrations" substitute for Christmas parties.  New principal Eujin Jaela Kim has given PS 169 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a politically correct scrub-down, to the dismay of teachers and parents.  "We definitely can't say Christmas, nothing with Christmas on it, nothing with Santa," PTA president Mimi Ferrer said administrators told her.  "No angels.  We can't even have a star because it can represent a religious system, like the Star of David."

Parents' dismay as principal bans all use of 'Christmas' and 'Santa Claus' — and Thanksgiving will be replaced by 'harvest festival'.  A New York City primary school principal has been accused of banning the mention of Christmas by parents.  Principal Eujin Jaela Kim reportedly scrubbed out any mention of the word 'Christmas', 'Santa Claus' and forbade explicit Christmas decorations.  'We definitely can't say Christmas, nothing with Christmas on it, nothing with Santa,' PTA president Mimi Ferrer said administrators told her.  'No angels.  We can't even have a star because it can represent a religious system, like the Star of David,' she told the New York Post.

School district censors Charlie Brown Christmas.  The latest yuletide lunacy comes from Johnson County, Kentucky where the school district has censored an elementary school presentation of "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  The district also ordered other schools to remove all religious references from their upcoming Christmas productions.

Kentucky Grade School Scrubs All References To Christianity In 'Charlie Brown Christmas'.  Thursday's [12/17/2015] theatrical performance of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" at W.R. Castle Elementary School in rural Johnson County, Kentucky will be bereft of its heart and soul because a single whiner has scared school district officials into censoring all references to religion.  The main scene which will be deleted involves Linus van Pelt reciting a handful of verses from the New Testament's Gospel of Luke to explain to Charlie Brown "what Christmas is all about."

Audience members recite Bible passage deleted from 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'.  The scene at W.R. Castle Elementary School followed a firestorm of controversy in Johnson County this week.  Superintendent Thomas Salyer has said that, following a complaint, he consulted with legal counsel and determined that biblical references should be removed from the play and other Christmas programs in the Eastern Kentucky school district.  He said he was trying to meet the letter of the law.  That decision resulted in people protesting outside the school district offices in Paintsville since Monday [12/14/2015] and a request from a national legal organization to not remove the biblical lines.

Kentucky school district censors religious lines from 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'.  A Kentucky school district is being urged to reconsider after censoring "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and other programs by removing all references to religion.  The Alliance Defending Freedom weighed in Tuesday [12/15/2015] after Johnson County Schools officials agreed to modify its holiday programming in order to avoid a potential lawsuit, a move prompted by a complaint from a parent about the classic Peanuts play.

15 Excerpts That Show How Radical, Weird And Out of Touch College Campuses Have Become.  [Example #5:]  "A Professor at Polk State College has allegedly failed a humanities student after she refused to concede that Jesus is a 'myth' or that Christianity oppresses women during a series of mandatory assignments at the Florida college.  According to a press release from the Liberty Counsel, a non-profit public interest law firm, Humanities Professor Lance 'Lj' Russum gave a student a 'zero' on four separate papers because the 16-year-old did not 'conform to his personal worldviews of Marxism, Atheism, Feminism, and homosexuality.'  The law firm has called for a full, private investigation of the professor and the course curriculum."

Islam, Christianity Are Fundamentally the Same, Prof Writes.  Yale theology professor Miroslav Volf argues that all religions are basically the same — equally prone to fanatical violence and to peaceful love of neighbor — and thus should be treated in exactly the same way.  In the wake of the extraordinarily brutal jihadist attacks perpetrated on innocent civilians in Paris Friday, Volf suggests in an article in the Washington Post that we look at religion as a single reality rather than making distinctions between different religions.

The Editor says...
It's hard to imagine that a man can make a living as a theology professor who believes all religions are the same.

Teen runner disqualified from state meet — Was it the Bible verse?  Was a high school cross country runner disqualified from a state championship meet because there was a Bible verse embroidered on his headband?  Georgia Congressman Douglas Collins seems to think so.  "Religious expression being squashed right here in the Ninth District," the Republican lawmaker tweeted.  "This is outrageous."

School defends runner in Bible verse flap.  John Green, a senior at Georgia's West Forsyth High School, was stripped of his third place victory just moments after crossing the finish line on Nov. 7th.  He was wearing a white headband adorned with the words "Isaiah 40:30-31" — a most appropriate verse for a cross country runner.

High school football player ejected from game for praising God after scoring touchdown.  Sticking you hand up and pointing towards the sky in football almost always means that you are praising God, not committing 'excessive celebration.'  What a moronic term that is.  This is just way over the bounds on being politically correct.  I hope the Arizona Interscholastic Association rules in favor of Pedro Banda, who is the high school student from Dysart High School that was ejected over this.

Praying Coach and Freedom of Speech.  According to the dailysignal.com, Coach Kennedy is working with a legal team from Liberty Institute to defend himself against the Bremerton School District.  Litigation between the two parties will be ongoing unless the school district withdraws their suspension of the coach.  Liberty Institute lawyers have called the Bremerton School District a hostile work environment, and they are filing a discrimination suit against the district.

Texas school district: Assignment teaching God is a myth was 'ill-conceived'.  A Texas school district is apologizing after complaints that a seventh-grade teacher gave students an assignment teaching that God is a myth.  Jordan Wooley, a Methodist student at West Memorial Junior High School in Katy, said the assignment was to identify "factual claims, commonplace assertions and opinions."  She said she originally answered the statement "there is no God" in two ways, a local CBS News affiliate reported.

School threatens to fire praying football coach.  A school district in Washington State has decided to play hardball with a football coach who refused to stop his mid-field, post-game prayers.  I received an exclusive copy of a three-page letter sent to Bremerton High School Coach Joe Kennedy from Superintendent Aaron Leavell. [...] "Any further violations will be grounds for discipline, up to and including discharge from District employment," Leavell wrote in an Oct. 23 letter.

Football Coach Defies School District Warning, Prays for Team at Homecoming Game.  The power of prayer in sports is beautifully portrayed in the new film "Woodlawn."  The film, just released this Friday, is based off a true story of how faith helped a high school football team overcome racial prejudice and hatred. Despite threats from school administrators, Woodlawn High School Coach Tandy Geralds and his team continued to praise God for their success both on and off the field.  A similar scenario is being played out at Bremerton High School in the state of Washington.  Coach Joe Kennedy has prayed with his junior varsity football team after each game for seven years.  Yet, he now faces pressure from his local school district to put an end to the spiritual display.

Football coach says he will defy school's prayer ban.  There's a scene in the great football film "Facing the Giants" when the coach decides to implement a new coaching philosophy — to praise God no matter what the result.  Joe Kennedy, a football coach at Bremerton High School in Washington, was so inspired by the film he decided to embrace that philosophy — knowing that to do so could cost him his job.

School district fights ACLU, vows to keep saying 'God bless you'.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana has launched a full-scale assault on Airline High School after the principal wrote the words, "May God Bless You All" in a message posted on the school's website.  "The Future Starts Today — May God Bless You All," wrote Principal Jason Rowland in September.  The ACLU also complained about plans by the school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes to place prayer request boxes around the campus.

Freedom from Religion Atheists tackle Football Players.  According to the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a group of permanently offended atheists that are also in a league of their own, there is no praying in football, not to mention "Hail Mary" passes to win the big game.  [...] The FFRF has now gone ballistic over the baptism of an on-the-field high school football coach in Villa, Ricca, Georgia.  Attendance was voluntary and the students who attended did so on their own time and of their own free will.  When the FFRF saw a video of the ceremony, it fired off a letter of righteous indignation to the Carroll County School superintendent.

Georgia High School Scolded for Pregame Prayers and Hymns.  A high school in Georgia was told they couldn't publicly pray before a football game.  What happened next really shouldn't surprise you at all.

Can Federal Judges Run Public Schools?  Judicial tyranny, specifically in our American court system, has usurped legislative jurisdiction, and I am so bold as to add Divine jurisdiction, in our Constitutional Republic.  We saw its egregious head again this past weekend after a Mississippi school district canceled Brandon High School's marching band playing of the Christian hymn "How Great Thou Art" during halftime at Friday night's [8/21/2015] football season opener.  The reason?  It was decided that singing a hymn was too similar to a recent ban by U.S. District Judge, Carlton Reeves, given to Rankin County School District on July 10, saying it promoted Christianity during school hours after it agreed to stop.  So Reeves fined the district $7,500 and again ordered it to stop sponsoring prayers at graduations, assemblies, athletic competitions and other cschool events, WLBT-TV reported.

Atheists Warn Football Coaches and Chaplains Not to 'Instill Christianity in Vulnerable Young Men'.  An atheist group is demanding that publicly funded universities take immediate steps to bar Christian coaches and chaplains from "converting football fields into mission fields."  "The words of coaches and chaplains make clear that their purpose is to instill Christianity in vulnerable young men," the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) says in a new report, titled "Pray to Play."  "Public universities and their employees cannot endorse, promote, or favor religion," the report states.

School under fire for football prayer, marching band's religious song.  In the South, faith and football go together like biscuits and gravy. [...] Those traditions were especially evident at West Laurens High School where the marching band performed great songs of the faith and folks bowed their heads to pray before Friday night football games.  But those traditions are a problem, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington, D.C.-based group that loves to put its nose in other people's business — especially when it comes to public displays of the Christian faith.

School band told to stop performing 'How Great Thou Art'.  There was no halftime show under the Friday night lights at Mississippi's Brandon High School  — the marching band had been benched.  The band was ordered off the field because the Christian hymn "How Great Thou Art" was a part of their halftime show  — in violation of a federal court order.

Kansas public school removes Jesus picture after group complains.  A Kansas public school has removed a picture of Jesus that hung in a hallway for decades after a complaint from a national church-state separation group, The Wichita Eagle reported.  Royster Middle School removed the print of Warner Sallman's "Head of Christ" last Thursday [8/20/2015], following a complaint from the national Freedom From Religion Foundation, Richard Profitt, the school superintendent, said Friday [8/21/2015].  Proffitt, who is in his first year as Chanute superintendent, said the picture was taken down after the district's lawyer advised that the school could not legally display it.

Lawsuit challenging Hall County school prayer dismissed.  A federal lawsuit challenging coach and teacher-led prayer at Hall County high schools has been dismissed, and the atheist group that filed it is calling the resolution "a victory for the separation of church and state."  The American Humanist Association, which filed the suit in December on behalf of three anonymous parties, said the dismissal reflected in court documents filed Monday [7/20/2015] was the result of an out-of-court agreement reached with the Hall County School District.  "We are pleased that the district is taking productive steps forward to ensure compliance with the Constitution, and we expect that it will stop the student-staff prayer activities and other problematic conduct," David Niose, legal director for the American Humanist Association, said in a statement.

More about the one-sided separation of church and state.

Asleep for the last 60 years? Wake up — and brace yourself.  In 1960 when I started kindergarten, we prayed every day in school.  Not just silently, or in secret, but aloud the way Daniel prayed to Jehovah when prayer was banned by the advisers to King Darius.  We prayed proudly and we learned about the Christian heritage of our nation — how the Pilgrims had fled oppression to seek a land where they could worship God freely, how the Founding Fathers had enshrined that freedom in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, how we gave Thanksgiving to our Creator God for the blessings of liberty.  Today, in 2015, we have not only taken away prayer in schools — thanks to the 1962 Supreme Court ruling condemning the very prayer I recited in my New York state elementary school — but also suspend or expel individual students who exercise their constitutional rights to free speech and religious liberty by praying publicly.  Even students who simply acknowledge God as the source of their strength, success and wisdom are vilified and persecuted, just as those Pilgrims were so many years before.

When 'God' is a bad word at graduation.  In 2011, a federal judge threatened high school valedictorian Angela Hildenbrand with jail time if she dared pray at her graduation.  Then, in 2013, public school officials turned off valedictorian Remington Reimer's microphone mid-sentence when he started talking about his faith during his graduation address.  And, just last year, public school officials censored salutatorian Brooks Hamby's graduation speech three different times and threatened to cut off his microphone for humbly thanking his parents and God for the gift of learning. [...] Censoring, silencing, threatening with jail — are these the lessons of free speech and religious liberty that school officials want to teach graduating high school seniors?  Is this how our schools should reward our most academically successful high school graduates?

Teacher Bans Pastor's Daughter From Mentioning God In 'All About Me' Assignment.  A Nevada public charter school is facing the wrath of a local pastor and possibly a lawsuit because a teacher refused to allow his sixth-grade daughter to include her religious beliefs for a project called "All About Me."  The site of the First Amendment kerfuffle is Somerset Academy in North Las Vegas, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

School apologizes for banning Jesus.  Somerset Academy issued a formal written apology to 12-year-old Mackenzie Fraiser late Friday [5/22/2015] for denying her the right to use a Bible verse in a class assignment.  School officials have now agreed to allow the sixth-grader to resubmit her original project, this time with her favorite Bible verse — John 3:16 — included.

The Four Horsemen of the Education Apocalypse.  The first Horseman is called Neutrality.  He isn't neutral; educators just use that term because the schools are supposed to be impartial in regard to both politics and religion.  This so-called "fairness" is closely associated with and bolstered by the misunderstood and mythological "separation of church and state."  True, we don't want the public schools teaching church doctrine, but what happens to a child's view of the world if he attends a school (where he's supposed to be learning really important things) that never mentions God and even actively teaches against His existence?  Look at science or health curricula today to see what I mean.  Those classes are not neutral.

A Professor At Polk State College Allegedly Failed A Student For Refusing To Say Jesus Is A "Myth".  The hatred and persecution of Christians in America is growing at an exponential rate.  Because this student would not submit to this Marxist professor's view of Christianity, she received four zeroes on four papers, which is unheard of, unless of course the professor is making a political statement — which he was.  The Dean of Academic Affairs Donald Painter sees nothing wrong with the materials or the course and condescendingly told the parents of this 16 year-old, 'too bad you got offended, but you knew what the course was like,' or something to that effect.

Professor fails student for refusing to condemn her Christian faith.  A professor at Polk State College has allegedly failed a humanities student after she refused to concede that Jesus is a "myth" or that Christianity oppresses women during a series of mandatory assignments at the Florida college.  According to a press release from the Liberty Counsel, a non-profit public interest law firm, Humanities Professor Lance "Lj" Russum gave a student a "zero" on four separate papers because the 16-year-old did not "conform to his personal worldviews of Marxism, Atheism, Feminism, and homosexuality."  The law firm has called for a full, private investigation of the professor and the course curriculum.

Christian girl given zeroes for her beliefs.  You know it's not going to be good when a 10-page letter of complaint breaks off in the middle and says, "But wait, there's more."  That's the case of a letter from officials with Liberty Counsel that was sent to Polk State College in Florida about the "pervasive anti-Christian bias" a teacher, Lance Russum, imposes on students.  The letter demands a "full and independent review of Mr. Russum's behavior and course content," an appropriate grading of a 16-year-old student's assignments, which earlier were given "zero" grades because of her beliefs, "a written apology" and assurances that future courses "will be free from such unlawful discrimination."

Atheist Group Bullies Oklahoma Schools into Halting Free Bible Distribution.  The Duncan Public School district in Oklahoma has promised to prohibit the distribution of Bibles to students, after an atheist organization threatened legal action over what it calls "unconstitutional Bible distribution."  The atheist group called the "American Humanist Association" sent an email to the Duncan Public school district after finding out that a teacher at Woodrow Wilson Elementary was handing out free Gideon Bibles during class time.

Feds Spend $149,890 on 'Mindful Eating Intervention' for Third Graders.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is spending nearly $150,000 to test a "mindful eating intervention" on third graders in California.  A grant awarded earlier this month outlined the project that will use the methods of a Zen teacher to try to fight childhood obesity and turn kids into "change agents" to teach others how to eat healthily. [...] Mindfulness is a New Age meditation technique that traces its origins from Buddhism.  People engaging in mindfulness are encouraged to focus on the present moment "non-judgmentally."

Atheist group threatens suit over 'angels' on memorial to beloved teacher.  A West Virginia middle school took down the crosses from a memorial to a beloved teacher, but is standing firm on the angels etched into the stone, despite an atheist group's threat to sue on constitutional grounds.  Joann Christy's 26-year career educating children at Ravenswood Middle School came to a tragic end in 2004, when she died in a car accident.  But her loved ones and the community she had served sought to remember her with an engraved, stone memorial near the school's entrance.

Student reprimanded for saying "God Bless America.  A Florida high school student was disciplined after a national atheist organization took offense when he concluded the morning announcements by saying "God Bless America."  A spokesperson for the Nassau County School District told me the student at Yulee High School deviated from the approved script on the morning of Feb. 9th and uttered the words "God Bless America" — apparently causing angst among two atheist students.  "It wasn't part of the scripted morning announcements," district spokesperson Sharyl Wood said.  "The principal took the appropriate steps in speaking with the student and disciplining the student."

Short sighted? School halts Bible study for blind kids.  After 10 years, the Maryland School for the Blind suspended a Bible study for blind teenagers, telling a local church leader it was because of "church-state" issues.

Florida Schools Ban Bible After Pressure from Atheists.  Amid mounting pressure from both atheist groups and concerned parents, Orange County (Fla.) Public Schools have banned Bible distribution in several area high schools after Satanists and an anti-religion group announced plans to pass out their own literature.  One of the largest school systems in the country with more than 180,000 students, OCPS had allowed World Changers of Florida, a Christian group, in conjunction with the Florida Family Policy Council to passively distribute Bibles to high school students on Jan. 16 — which is National Freedom of Religion Day — for the past three years.  Under the school system's policy at the time, Bibles could be placed on a table in a common area for students to pick up if they chose to do so.

None dare call it prayer.
San Francisco Schools Transformed by the Power of Meditation.  Silence isn't something people usually associate with middle school, but twice a day the halls of Visitacion Valley School in San Francisco fall quiet as the sixth, seventh and eighth grade students meditate for fifteen minutes.  And school administrators tell NBC News that the violence outside of the school, which is situated in one of San Francisco's poorest neighborhoods, was spilling into the school and affecting the students' demeanor.

Texas school board approves textbooks criticized for religious bent.  The Texas State Board of Education, whose decisions can have national ramifications, on Friday approved nearly 100 textbooks despite criticism the books exaggerated the influence biblical figures had in forming the U.S. system of government.

School district's decision on religious holidays outrages community.  Maryland's largest public school district is facing heavy criticism for changing next year's calendar.  It includes no mention of religious holidays, even when schools are closed on those days and critics say the decision disrespects Christians, Jews and Muslims, reports CBS News correspondent Julianna Goldman.  Muslim families pressed the school district for a day off to celebrate a religious holiday.  Instead they voted to wipe away all religious holidays from the 2015-2016 school calendar.

Neutering Religious Holidays.  We haven't even hit Thanksgiving, and already the war on Christmas is underway.  This time, one of the largest public school systems in the U.S. is eliminating every mention of religious holidays on its official calendar.  The Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland has cut Christmas and Easter, as well as Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana, from next year's school calendar.  No religious holiday will be mentioned by name.

The Editor asks...
Whatever happened to the celebration of diverse viewpoints?

ADF Sues Colorado High School for Banning Student Prayer Group.  Assistant Principal James Lucas reportedly told [a student] on September 29 that he and the other students could continue their meetings, but must stop any religious speech during them, because of the "separation of church and state."  In a statement on the ADF website, senior legal counsel Jeremy Tedesco said, "Public schools should encourage the free exchange of ideas.  Instead, this school implemented an ill-conceived ban that singles out religious speech for censorship during free time."

Montgomery County, Md., School Board Votes to Eliminate All Religious References to School Holidays.  By a vote of 7-1, the Montgomery County School Board voted on Tuesday [11/11/2014] to strip the public school calendar of all references to religion after Muslim groups mounted more than a year-long campaign to get Eid al-adha and Eid ul-Fitr added as a days off for students.  The majority of board members voted to remove all references to religion, resulting in the 2015 school calendar referencing Dec. 24, 25, 28, 29 and 31 as "Winter Break" without noting that school is closed on Dec. 25 for Christmas.  Next year March 25, 28, 29, 30 and 31 will be "Spring Break," without any reference to Easter.

Atheist Group to Distribute Pamphlets in Schools of Cartoon Bible Sexually Assaulting Woman.  [Scroll down]  The memo, dated April 22, 2013, and referencing "passive distribution of atheist materials," provided the following list of "approved materials" that FFRF and Central Florida Freethought Community (CFFC), FFRF's local chapter, may "passively distribute" on May 2, 2013, in schools:
  1. The Age of Reason
  2. What They Said About Religion
  3. Ten Common Myths About Atheists
  4. What is Wrong with the Ten Commandments?
  5. What is an Atheist?
  6. Nontheistic Students in Your School
  7. Humanist of the Year Award
The memo also stated, "NO OTHER MATERIALS MAY BE DISTRIBUTED."  High school principals are instructed in the memo, "You must have a member of your staff ensure that only the materials identified above are on the tables to be passively distributed."

Illustration to be Handed Out at Public Schools: Human Bible Sexually Assaulting Woman.  The Freedom From Religion Foundation, an atheist group, is planning to hand out in several Florida public high schools a pamphlet that features an illustration on its cover depicting a humanized Bible sexually assaulting a young woman.  The pamphlet is entitled: "An X-Rated Book: Sex and Obscenity in the Bible."  The front cover of the small purple booklet is illustrated with a cartoon Bible — which has arms, legs, face and drooling mouth — sexually assaulting a screaming woman as she tries to escape its grasp.

Georgia high school's statue ignites ire of atheist groups.  A Georgia high school football team's tradition of touching a stone statue on their way out of the fieldhouse is drawing the ire of two groups that are demanding the statue be removed.  According to MyFoxAtlanta.com, the granite statue at the center of the controversy at Madison County High School in Danielsville has ignited the furor of atheist and humanist groups who say the monument's biblical inscriptions violate the Constitution.

The Editor says...
There was a time when the lunatic fringe was routinely ignored and life went on as if they didn't exist.  In this case, the troublemakers seem unaware that the students are entitled to their religion and that "the free exercise thereof" is guaranteed by the First Amendment.

California School Purging Library of ANY Book with a Christian Author or Theme.  Ask me again why my children are homeschooled.

School accused of 'purging' Christian books.  It's hard to imagine that any school would have a problem with a book about a Christian family that helped Jews escape the Holocaust.  But Springs Charter Schools in Temecula, Calif., not only had a problem with "The Hiding Place," they also took issue with any other book that was written by a Christian author or included a Christian message.

Prayer for injured teen sparks atheist outrage.  The injured player was on the ground being tended to by trainers and coaches.  So the Seminole High School football team did what many football teams do.  The teenage boys took a knee, bowed their heads and prayed for their injured teammate.  But that simple act of compassion and humanity in Sanford, Florida sparked outrage from the Freedom From Religion Foundation — a group of perpetually offended atheists from Wisconsin.

School removes plaques honoring God.  The plaques were posted at Mt. Peak Elementary School and Longbranch Elementary School [in Midlothian, Texas].  They both read:  "Dedicated in The Year Of Our Lord 1997 To The Education of God's Children And To Their Faithful Teachers In The Name Of The Holy Christian Church — Soli Deo Gloria."  Stewart said both plaques have been covered up and will eventually be replaced.  The superintendent said they had to eradicate the Christian words and symbols following a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a sue-happy bunch of atheists from Wisconsin.

Florida school district replaces football chaplains with "life coaches".  Troy Schmidt's jaw dropped.  A few minutes before, he had been preparing to start his seventh year as chaplain for the Olympia High School football team in Florida.  But now, those plans had been changed — radically changed.  "I received a call from the coach," Schmidt told me.  "He said Orange County Public Schools is no longer allowed to have chaplains as a part of the football program."  Schmidt, who is a campus pastor of the First Baptist Church of Windermere, Florida, listened as the football coach explained the district's decision to cleanse Christianity from its ranks.  "I could no longer open the Bible, talk about the Bible, talk about God or pray with the team in any capacity," he told me.  "It was heartbreaking."

TN High-School Student Suspended For Saying 'Bless You' After Someone Sneezed.  If this young lady wants to express her religious beliefs in an American public school, she should convert to Islam, don a hijab, and say "Al-hamdu Lillah" when someone sneezes.  Then she will be safe from any reprisals.

Georgia town to atheists: Stop bullying our kids.  The American Humanist Association (AHA) is about to learn a very important lesson — folks around Gainesville, Georgia don't take kindly to out-of-town atheists trying to bully their children.  More than 200 people turned out in defiance of the self-described atheist group early Wednesday morning [8/13/2014] for an impromptu prayer rally in the middle of the Chestatee High School football field.  The previous day, the atheists (acting on behalf of a single, unnamed citizen) sent a letter to school officials demanding that the football coaching staff stop participating in team prayers and that they remove all biblical references and religious messages from team documents.

Ohio university quiz implies atheists are naturally smarter than Christians.  A psychology class at Ohio State University implied in an online survey that atheists are just naturally more intelligent than Christians — and at least one student said it's an outrage.  The quiz from a Psychology 1100 class at the college poses the question, Campus Reform first reported:  "Theo has an IQ of 100 and Aine has an IQ of 125 — which statement can you expect to be true?"  Students are then directed to choose from the following answers:  Option one is "Aine earns less money than Theo."  Option two reads "Theo is more liberal than Aine."  Option three:  "Theo is an atheist, while Aine is a Christian."  Option four:  "Theo is a Christian, while Aine is an atheist."  The correct answer, Campus Reform reported, was option four:  "Theo is a Christian, while Aine is an atheist."  One student who requested anonymity said the question was part of a class quiz posted online.

How Political Ethics Replaced Biblical Morality.  How have political ethics have replaced Biblically based morality in the minds of educated young people?

School: We have a right to ban God.  A California school district says it will not apologize to a teenager who defied its orders and mentioned God in his graduation speech.  Attorneys representing the Brawley Union High School District have written a 10-page letter defending the school's right not only to censor graduation speeches, but also to ban any speech that references God or Jesus.

North Carolina Enacts Law Protecting Student Prayer in Public Schools.  North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill into law last week that protects the religious liberty of public school students, including their right to pray, share religious viewpoints, and distribute religious literature at school without harassment from school officials.  S.B. 370 was introduced in March 2013.  It passed 106-9 in the North Carolina House and 48-1 in the state Senate before Gov. McCrory signed it on June 19th.  The new law's stated goal is "to clarify student rights to engage in prayer and religious activity in school, to create an administrative process for remedying complaints regarding exercise of those student rights, and to clarify religious activity for school personnel."

God Redacted from High School Graduation Speech.  School officials rejected three versions of the young man's graduation address, and one administrator went so far as to redact every religious reference with a black marker — as if it were some sort of top secret government document.  "The first and second draft speeches proposed oppose government case law and are a violation of the Constitution," read a warning letter sent to the young man.  "The district is advising you that reference to religious content is inappropriate and that the two drafts provided will not be allowed."  So the 18-year-old Christian did what any red-blooded, Constitution-loving American would do — he defied school officials and thanked God anyway.

After two weeks of negative publicity...
Bible ban lifted in FL's Broward County schools.  Following Breitbart News's May 5 story that Broward County Public Schools had banned students from reading the Bible and that lawyers from Liberty Institute were threatening to sue, and our May 14 update when the school changed its story but still maintained the ban, the school system has now capitulated and will allow Bibles into the classroom.  In a letter dated Sunday, May 18, first obtained by Breitbart News, the school system has completely reversed course.

Broward County Schools Caught Lying About Bible Ban, Faces Lawsuit.  Updating our previous story about a fifth grader told by his teacher he could not read his Bible during free time, school lawyers for Broward County Public Schools have now gotten involved and changed their story.  They now say that the time in question is not free reading time, but instead Accelerated Reader Program time. During this period, students can only read certain approved books, and the Bible is not among them.  Hence, Broward County Public Schools will continue banning the Bible.

Professor Smacked Down For Trying To Ban Thanking God At Graduation.  An analytic chemistry professor at public, taxpayer-funded East Carolina University (ECU) has failed miserably in his bizarre effort to prevent students from thanking God in personal statements, which will be read during a departmental graduation ceremony on Friday [5/9/2014].  The professor, Eli Hvastkovs, explicitly banned students from giving any credit to God in an email obtained by Campus Reform.

FL Teacher Banned Bible from 'Free Reading' Time in Classroom.  Officials at Broward County Public Schools banned a fifth grader from reading the Bible during "free reading" time, according to lawyers from the Liberty Institute who are threatening to sue the school for violating the First Amendment.  Giovanni Rubeo is a fifth-grade student at the school, who had been given a Bible at church as a Christmas gift.  It's his favorite book, so he decided he'd like to read it during the time in class where students are allowed to read anything they choose.  Swornia Thomas is Giovanni's teacher.  On April 8, Thomas told Giovanni he's not allowed to read the Bible in her class and ordered him to put it away.

Update:
Dad Serves Up A Warm Plate Of Constitutional Law To Teacher Who Banned Son From Reading Bible.  The Liberty Institute has now given the school district ten days to issue a written apology to Giovanni and restore its students' rights to read a religious book during free reading time, threatening legal action if it doesn't comply; in other words, these guys are not messing around. I bet the school is regretting it ever got into this mess... [...]

America's Appalling Ignorance of Christianity.  Stephen Prothero notes in his book, Religious Literacy, America is a "nation of religious illiterates."  Because this ignorance is a "major civic problem," Prothero advocates returning to teaching religion in the public schools.  In addition to "reading, writing and arithmetic," religion, he says, "ought to become the 'Fourth R' of American education."  Given what he sees as a widespread "lack of basic knowledge," Prothero questions how politicians and pundits continue to "root public policy arguments in religious rhetoric" not understanding that most of the public either misses or misinterprets those Biblical references.

Texas second-grader says teacher took away Bible during reading time.  The family of a second-grade student at a Texas elementary school says their daughter's teacher took her Bible away during a "read to myself" session.  The Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal group specializing in religious liberty cases, says the family reached out for assistance after a teacher at Hamilton Elementary in Cypress allegedly told the girl not to bring the Bible back to school again.  The teacher reportedly said the Bible is inappropriate reading material.

Florida 5-Year-Old Told 'It's Not Good' To Pray By School Employee.  A 5-year-old bows her head at lunch to say Grace before she eats may be considered cute and heartwarming by some.  That was not the case for a student in Florida.  The young girl was told by a school lunchroom supervisor that her actions were wrong.  The girl's father, Marcos Perez, is outraged to the point where he is considering homeschooling his child.  Today, the Liberty Institute sent a letter to the school administrators demanding they stop allowing religious discrimination, which is in violation of not only state, but federal law.  The school denies the incident.

Bibles decried as 'religious propaganda,' banned from Iowa State University hotel.  Administrators at a hotel run by Iowa State University have given the boot to Bibles in their guest rooms after protest from a religious separatist group.  The push to remove the books began when a guest at the Hotel Memorial Union complained to Freedom From Religion Foundation about the "unwelcome religious propaganda in the bedside table," according to a local NBC News affiliate.  The foundation, a nonprofit which advocates the separation of church and state, said the hotel is part of the Iowa public university system and, as such, cannot legally place the Bibles in the room.  Doing so, the group argued, would constitute a support of one religion over another.

Mom claims school banned son's Bible, used inappropriate worksheets.  A Detroit-area woman is accusing her children's school of hypocrisy after her son was told not to bring his Bible to class and her daughter's teacher distributed worksheets referencing alcohol.  Jessica Cross, of Dearborn Heights, her 8-year-old son, Jason, would take his Bible to school to read during a free period.  He was eventually told that book is "only for church, not school," MyFoxDetroit.com reported.  Cross said her son, who is autistic, has been treated poorly by school staff and subjected to unnecessary punishments.

UConn rebukes coach, says Jesus doesn't belong in football.  The president of the University of Connecticut publicly rebuked an assistant football coach for telling The Hartford Courant that "Jesus Christ should be in the center of our huddle."  "Our employees cannot appear to endorse or advocate for a particular religion or spiritual philosophy as part of their work at the university, or in their interactions with our students" President Susan Herbst wrote in a letter to the newspaper.  "This applies to work-related activity anywhere on or off campus, including on the football field."

Gideon Bibles Removed After Atheist Group Pressures U of Wisconsin.  The University of Wisconsin-Extension has agreed to remove all Gideon Bibles from 137 guest rooms at its conference center after an atheist group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), complained, arguing that the Bibles in the bedrooms constituted state endorsement of Christianity.

First-grader told to stop talking about Bible.  The parents of a 6-year-old girl said their daughter was humiliated when a teacher interrupted the child's one-minute speech and told her to sit down because she's "not allowed to talk about the Bible in school," attorneys for the California family allege.  The incident occurred Dec. 19 inside a first grade classroom at Helen Hunt-Jackson Elementary School in Temecula, Calif.  The previous day the teacher instructed boys and girls to find something at home that represented a family Christmas tradition.

Teacher Tells 6-year-old: Jesus Not Allowed in School.  A California elementary school is facing a possible lawsuit after a teacher allegedly confiscated a six-year-old child's Christmas candy canes and told him "Jesus is not allowed in school."  Last December, Isaiah Martinez brought his first grade classmates at Merced Elementary School candy canes.  Attached to each treat was a message explaining the religious legend surround the candies.  The legend references a candy maker who created the candy cane to symbolize the life of Christ.

Some Parents Upset After L.I. School Removes Religious References From 'Silent Night'.  The song "Silent Night" is at the heart of a concert controversy on Long Island.  Officials at Ralph J. Osgood Intermediate School removed several religious references, including "holy infant" and "Christ the savior," from the popular Christmas carol before a concert featuring fifth-graders last week, WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reported.  The intent was to avoid offending non-Christians, but the change left others upset.

Schools slams door on Santa.  Christmas in Connecticut feels a little less Christmas-y in one high school after a teacher told students they could not decorate the classroom door with Santa Claus or Christmas trees.  "This is political correctness run amuck," an outraged mom told me. [...] The parent who contacted me said it's pretty clear what the school is doing.  "Christmas seems targeted for persecution," she said.  "If Hanukkah or Kwanzaa were targeted like that there would be such outrage.  We're not allowed to be outraged that Christmas is being taken out of the classroom."

Seventh grader files lawsuit after school staff destroys prayer flyers.  A middle school student is fighting back after she was banned from posting flyers promoting "See You at the Pole," a prayer event that's held every year at public schools across the nation.  According to court documents, a school counselor 'forcefully' told the student, identified only as K.R., her flyers were "illegal," citing separation of church and state.

School Board Posts 17 Legal Talking Points for Limiting Religious Liberty.  Last week, CNSNews reported that a Georgia school in Bulloch County decided to confiscate the Christmas cards that were posted along the hallways over the Thanksgiving break.  Traditionally, the school always had Christmas cards posted, but school administrators decided to un-deck the halls.

Church-state battle envelops school choirs.  As Christmas nears, two local school districts find themselves being drawn unwillingly into the battle against religion in the public square — but both districts maintain that allowing students to participate in traditional Christmas concerts does not violate anyone's rights.  Choirs from Glacier, Flathead and Whitefish high schools will perform as planned today and Friday during the "Peace on Earth Community Christmas Celebration" despite receiving requests from the Freedom from Religion Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union of Montana to cancel.

50 Years Ago Today: Supreme Court Stops School-Sponsored Religious Activities.  Fifty years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school-sponsored Bible reading in public schools was unconstitutional.  Prior to that decision, it was relatively common for children to begin the school day with a reading of Bible verses, though eleven states already had laws supporting Bible reading or prayer in schools overturned at the state level.  Abington School District v. Schempp resulted in an 8-1 decision that overturned a Pennsylvania law that required the reading of "[a]t least ten verses from the Holy Bible" and a recitation of the Lord's Prayer at the opening of each school day.

School Violated U.S. Constitution, Texas Law by Censoring Christian Valedictorian.  Joshua High School officials didn't just act like a school bully when they turned off a valedictorian's speech after the speaker mentioned Jesus.  They also violated Texas law and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  Fox News' Todd Starnes reported that when a Christian valedictorian at Joshua High School referenced his faith in his graduation speech, school officials literally turned the microphone off.  The valedictorian has been accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy to become an officer, and Principal Mick Cochran threatened to write a letter to the Navy saying that this young man is of poor character, attempting to persuade the Navy to refuse allowing this talented student to attend.

Atheist group, angry mom go ballistic over prayer at pretend preschool commencement.  The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation has sent a two-page letter to a school district in southeast Texas complaining about a preschool graduation ceremony begun with an unconstitutional prayer.  The controversial supplication occurred on May 31 in a classroom at Amelia Elementary School in Beaumont, reports local ABC affiliate KBMT.  A preschool student led the brief prayer, which ended with the words "In Jesus' name, Amen."  The student seems to have been following the instruction of a preschool teacher.

Crowd stunned after valedictorian rips up speech, recites Lord's prayer.  A South Carolina valedictorian garnered wild applause after he ripped up his pre-approved speech and delivered the Lord's prayer at his high school graduation on Saturday.  The act was apparently in protest of the Pickens County School District's decision to no longer include prayer at graduation ceremonies, Christian News reported.  Officials said the decision was made after the district was barraged with complaints by atheist groups.

Religion Is Not Welcome: How a Prayer Wrecked a Graduation.  School prayer and religion in public schools remains a hot button issue that has resulting in numerous court cases.  Many schools throughout the country are trying to delicately deal with religion during upcoming graduation activities.

Teens Decide to Fight Back Against Anti-Christian Bullies.  Late last year, a public school teacher in northern Idaho told students to write an essay titled, "I Believe."  But there was one caveat — the students were not allowed to write anything about God in their papers.  That act of religious censorship prompted a group of Christian students to start asking questions — and those questions led to the creation of a video that addresses Christian bullying in public schools.

High School Track Team Disqualified When Runner Gestures Thanks to God.  The Columbus High School Mighty Cardinals had won the 4x100-meter relay — by seven yards, no less — and had a shot at the state championship.  That was until Junior sprinter Derrick Hayes pointed to the sky.  Hayes's father, K.C., said that his son made a gesture of thanks to God, but raising a hand to the sky is considered excessive celebration according to the state scholastic rules.  And with that, the team was disqualified.

Teacher fired for showing his Bible.  A substitute teacher who lost his job for showing his Bible to a student has filed a complaint against the Phillipsburg School District.  Walt Tutka claims religious discrimination and retaliation as the reasons for his dismissal from the district in January, according to his complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Kentucky county removing Ten Commandments from schools.  Breathitt County school officials say they are removing Ten Commandments displays from the high school, middle school and elementary schools.

Gay and Godless on the Public-School Stage.  Liberals who demand church-state separation would pitch a fit if a public school decided to perform a play that reverently told stories of the Old Testament, whether it was the story of creation, the story of Noah, or Moses or Joseph and his brothers.  But somehow, if a public school decides to put on a play mocking God and the Old Testament, that is not a church-state violation.  The separation police don't want religious (or atheist) minorities to face religious indoctrination in a public school.  But anti-religious indoctrination mocking the Judeo-Christian majority is a glorious festival of free speech.

The sanctioned abuse of the faith.  The mockery of Christianity, and not just the ridicule of individual Christians, has even won the sanction of the courts.  The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which will sanction everything weird and contentious, ruled in 2011 that "hostility to religion" is OK, after a 16-year-old Mormon boy sued his teacher for ridiculing him for his beliefs, saying there was no more evidence of the works of God than "there is a giant spaghetti monster living behind the moon."  The class was expected to reward him with a hearty laugh.

School Bans the Word 'Easter'.  Boys and girls at an Alabama elementary school will still get to hunt for eggs — but they can't call them 'Easter Eggs' have the principal banished the word for the sake of religious diversity.  "We had in the past a parent to question us about some of the things we do here at school," said Heritage Elementary School principal Lydia Davenport.  "So we're just trying to make sure we respect and honor everybody's differences."

Pope Francis: Schooling Without 'Religious Values' Can 'Lead to Cases Like Nazism'.  In a 2011 book, Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio, the new Pope Francis, stated that parents have a right to raise their children in accordance with their religious beliefs and that sometimes when the government intervenes to deprive young people of that religious element, it can produce terrible consequences, including "cases like Nazism" whereby many students were indoctrinated with views alien to those espoused their parents.

Professor Makes Students "Stomp on Jesus".  A Florida Atlantic University student said he was punished after he refused a professor's directive to stomp on a piece of paper with the word "Jesus" written on it.  The university, meanwhile, is defending the assignment as a lesson in debate.  "I'm not going to be sitting in a class having my religious rights desecrated," student Ryan Rotela told television station WPEC.  "I truly see this as I'm being punished."

'Jesus Stomping' Professor is Democrat Party Vice-Chairman in Palm Beach County, FL.  Just in time for Holy Week are many reports about this controversial incident involving a local college professor at Florida Atlantic University in Davie, Florida making his students literally stomp on paper after they were instructed to write the name Jesus on it.  However national media, while reporting on this incident, neglected to include the fact that the professor is also vice-chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party as reported today by a popular and influential local business/political web site called Biz Pac Review.

Media fail: Stomp Jesus FAU professor is a Dem. Party official.  Florida Atlantic University professor Deandre Poole instructed his intercultural communications class earlier this month to write the name "Jesus" on a piece of paper, then drop it on the floor and stomp on it.  One student, a devout Mormon, was so so disturbed by the exercise that he complained to school officials, saying Poole had offended his religious convictions.  The school responded by suspending the student from the class.

University Apologizes for "Stomping on Jesus" Assignment.  Florida Atlantic University has issued an apology for a classroom assignment that involving students writing the name "Jesus" on a sheet of paper and then stomping on the paper.  The university also said the lesson will never again be used.

The Editor says...
Let's try the same assignment with "Mohammed" or "Martin Luther King" or even "Obama" on the paper and see what happens.

Scott to FAU: Explain this Jesus-stomping incident to me, please.  It started with a professor of intercultural communications (no, seriously) at state-run Florida Atlantic University requiring students to write the name Jesus in large block letters on a piece of paper, and then stomp on it.  One student — one? — refused to comply and told the professor that he would file a complaint over the assignment, which offended his religious beliefs.  The school promptly punished the student, who might still have been suspended had the case not attracted a large amount of media and legal attention, and hopefully a large number of jaws hitting the pavement.

Florida Atlantic issues new groveling apology over Jesus-stomping.  The Florida Atlantic University student who allegedly ran afoul of school administrators when he expressed discomfort with a professor's assignment to stomp on a piece of paper bearing the word "Jesus," has won in an absolute rout.  As late as Monday [3/25/2013], Fox News Radio was reporting that the student, devout Mormon Ryan Rotela, faced a litany of academic charges involving "acts of verbal, written or physical abuse" and could no longer attend class.

Update:
University Reinstates 'Stomp Jesus' Professor.  A Florida Atlantic University professor who ordered his class to write the name 'Jesus' on pieces of paper and then stomp on it — will return to the classroom.  Deandre Poole had been placed on leave in March — not because of the assignment — but because of his personal safety.  The university said he will only teach online courses for the time being due to security concerns.  And the controversial course will no longer be taught.

The Editor says...
From this we can surmise that the school's administrators don't have a problem with Professor Poole's actions — they just have security concerns and a public relations mess on their hands.

Why Public Schools Should Teach the Bible:  [Scroll down]  The Bible has affected the world for centuries in innumerable ways, including art, literature, philosophy, government, philanthropy, education, social justice and humanitarianism.  One would think that a text of such significance would be taught regularly in schools.  Not so.  That is because of the "stumbling block" (the Bible again) that is posed by the powers that be in America.  It's time to change that, for the sake of the nation's children.  It's time to encourage, perhaps even mandate, the teaching of the Bible in public schools as a primary document of Western civilization.

Teacher Fired for Giving Student Bible.  A longtime substitute teacher in Phillipsburg, NJ, has been fired after he shared a Bible verse with a student — and upon request gave the child a Bible.

Washington University holds porn star panel in main university chapel.  At Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, students are perpetually lamenting the fact that their excellent Midwestern school isn't mentioned more often with Ivy-caliber powerhouses.  Well, this story probably isn't going to help.

No exams on Wiccan, Pagan holidays at University of Missouri?  The university's latest "Guide to Religions: Major Holidays and Suggested Accommodations" — designed to help faculty know when and when not to schedule exams and other student activities — lists eight Wiccan and Pagan holidays and events right alongside more mainstream occasions.  It's all part of the school's effort to include everyone's beliefs, although some critics say listing every holiday associated with fringe belief systems is a bit much.

Teacher Forced to Remove Reagan Quote, Bible Verses.  A New York public school teacher who advised a school Bible Study club has filed a civil rights lawsuit against her school district after she was forced to remove all religious content from her classroom — including a quote from former President Ronald Reagan.  Joelle Silver, a veteran teacher in the Cheektowaga Central School District in western New York, said she received a "counseling letter" signed by her superintendent that ordered her to remove all religious-themed items from her classroom or else she could be fired.

Teacher Reprimanded for Giving Bible to Student.  Walter Tutka is in big trouble.  The substitute teacher, who has served for years in the Phillipsburg, New Jersey, school district, is facing suspension after school officials learned that he gave a Bible to a student during a lunch hour on October 12.

Huckabee To Fox: 'Should We Be Surprised' About School Carnage When We've 'Removed God From Schools'?  "It's an interesting thing," [Mike] Huckabee said.  "We ask why there's violence in our schools but we've systematically removed God from our schools.  Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?  Because we've made it a place where we do not want to talk about eternity, life, what responsibility means, accountability.  That we're not just going to have to be accountable to the police, if they catch us, but we stand one day before a holy God in judgment."

School Orders 6-year-old to Remove 'God' From Poem.  A North Carolina community is embroiled in controversy after a school ordered a six-year-old girl to remove the word "God" from a poem that she was supposed to read during a Veteran's Day ceremony.  The girl is a first-grader at West Marion Elementary School.  She was supposed to read a poem written to honor her two grandfathers who had served during the Vietnam War.

School Removes God From First-Grader's Poem.  When the word "God" becomes inappropriate in public schools, America really has ceased to exist.  Consider the story of a first-grade girl in West Marion, North Carolina, who had the word "God" stripped from a poem she wrote and was going to read at her school's Veterans Day assembly earlier this month.  The poem honored her two grandfathers who served during the Vietnam War.

Atheists cry foul over 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'.  Charlie Brown's Christmas is on the outs at an elementary school in Little Rock, Ark. — at least among atheists who are calling foul over a planned student trip to see a stage production of the beloved Peanuts story.  The trouble began when students at Terry Elementary School brought home letters detailing the trip to see "A Charlie Brown Christmas" at a local church, according to a report from Arkansas' KARK.  A parent who had a problem with the play's content notified the local atheist group of the field trip.