After reading this I am really afraid of sending my children to schol. Why cant the christian right get the point of church and state. It's like there constantly trying to find ways to push there beleifs on us.
[/quote]Missouri Public School Must Stop Distribution of Bibles To Fifth-Graders, AU Tells Court
Monday, August 25, 2008
Gideon Bible Handouts Put Pressure On Students To Conform, Says Church-State Watchdog Group
A Missouri public school must end its policy of allowing an evangelical Christian group to distribute Bibles to fifth-graders on school property during school hours, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told a federal appellate court.
In a friend-of-the court brief filed with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Americans United insists that school-sanctioned distribution of religious materials to students violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
AU urges the appellate court to uphold a Missouri district court’s decision that ordered South Iron R-1 School District to stop the practice.
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, said the brief was filed because important principles are at stake.
“The Constitution forbids government officials to meddle in religious matters,” Lynn said. “Decisions about religion are up to parents, not school board members.
“If parents want their children to have a Bible, they are perfectly free to go out and buy one,” Lynn continued. “This school board is way out of line.”
For more than 30 years, South Iron R-1 School District permitted Gideons International to distribute Bibles during class time under the supervision of school officials, but revamped its policy as soon as the federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of parents by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The new school policy allows the Gideons to hand out Bibles in the cafeteria or in front of administrative offices between classes. The federal district court invalidated both policies.
The school board appealed the court’s Roark v. South Iron R-1 School District decision, hoping to continue the unconstitutional practice.
In its brief, AU asserts that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that school district promotion of religion puts pressure on nonbelievers or dissenters and is unconstitutional.
“In the cafeteria, students who choose to take Bibles and those who choose not to will be visible to much, if not all, of the student community -- a prospect made more likely given the school’s small size, 427 students,” the brief said. “Any child visibly ignoring the availability of the Bibles or returning to class empty-handed will stand out to his peers and thus feel pressured to take a Bible.”
The Gideons distribute the Bibles “to encourage the children to accept Christ as their personal savior.” The Bibles distributed at South Iron also include a place for students to sign under the written statement: “My Decision to Receive Christ as My Savior.”
The school board continued to allow the Gideons to distribute Bibles at the school even after warnings from the school’s attorneys, superintendent and insurance carrier. The superintendent resigned soon after the board ignored this legal advice, indicating in his resignation letter that the board was “headed down a path that is both illegal and costly.”
AU’s brief was drafted pro bono by attorney Kristina Silja Bennard of the national law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, in consultation with AU Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan and AU Senior Litigation Counsel Alex J. Luchenitser.[/quote]
Americans United: Missouri Public School Must Stop Distribution of Bibles To Fifth-Graders, AU Tells Court
I'm afraid to send my kids to schol. 
Re: I'm afraid to send my kids to schol. 
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