Pastor Sues To Force Prayer In School

[deadparrot]

CAMDEN, N.J. - June 7, 2006 (UPI) -- A pastor is suing a Camden, N.J., school district seeking to end the teaching of evolution and force the right to prayer in school.

The Rev. Eddie Torres filed the federal suit Monday after failing to persuade the city school board to place a referendum on the April ballot, the Camden (N.J.) Courier reported.

The newspaper said the city school district last year declined to put questions on the ballot regarding school prayer and a Bible-based curriculum. The school board claimed sole rights to determine curriculum, the newspaper said.

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_21222155.shtml

[MadMaddie]

1. These schools need to start going to these wingnut churches

and insisting on teaching evolution in the churches....eye for an eye...

[Warpy]

2. It would be funny as hell

if he won the suit and the kids had to bow to Mecca three times during the school day and acknowledge the greatness of Allah.

I'm sure he'd be the first guy to scream for help from the ACLU.

[Maccagirl]

4. That's the point these fundies never get

They are too blinded by idealogy to see the Pandora's Box they're opening. If the zealots continue to win, it won't take long to reap the consequences, just as the neo-con house of cards is crumbling as we speak.

[formercia]

15. They feel confident that God is on their side

and has vested in them the authority to interpret the 'Bible' as they see it.

[Redstone]

3. Why do people waste time reporting this trivial nonsense?

Of COURSE he's not going to get the schools to do that. So why give him the publicity?

Redstone

[Tesha]

11. Then again, who ever dreamed the Supreme Court would select our President?

(Not all things that seem too far-fetched to be true are
too far-fetched!)

Tesha

[Bigmack]

5. The school will have to ....

lawyer up. Big bucks that could be spent on kids will pay lawyers instead.

It's all part of the plan to kill the public schools. The fundies get money for suits like this from their parishoners (read:suckers), and the schools... well, they just have the bake-sale-driven budget that's not enough to begin with.

[Charlie Brown]

6. Since they insist on dictating religion on the public

will they be okay with non-discrimination laws and equal rights in their churches?

Fair's fair.

[Demeter]

13. And Taxes!

After all, new curriculum means new costs--the churches will have to pay their fair share if they want to dictate public policy.

[depakid]

7. A perfect case for rule 11 sanctions n/t

[struggle4progress]

8. Oh, UPI. Is Eddie a "pastor" in the so-called "Unification Church"?

The Moonie Times is carrying the same text. I wonder if Eddie buys into that "Moon is the Messiah" stuff.

[genieroze]

9. Tell the PESTor to blow it out his butt.

[radfringe]

10. the next wedgie amendment?

will congress be debating an amendment to dissolve separation of church and state?

[greekspeak]

12. Nobody is taking or has taken anyone's right to pray away from them

This is a load of crap. The pastor knows it. Administrators and teachers are simply not to use their influence and power as authority figures to coerce prayer from students. I wonder what Pastor Bumfuck here will say when muslim teachers force their students to pray Muslim prayers with Muslim language in Muslim fashion? When Buddhist instructors lead meditation sessions that last for hours. Et Cetera for Hinduism, Wicca, animism, and "heretical" Christianity. Then these freaks will demand CHRISTIAN prayes in school.

[arwalden]

14. ~~

:thumbsup:

[PaDem]

16. Students don't have the right to pray in school?

News to me. I exercised that right as a student. Has Bush taken this right away as well?

[Acadia Blue]

17. They want the right to force their type of prayer on others. In my school

we had a minute of silence and those who wanted to pray did. BFD.

[PaDem]

18. I guess my point is that..........

as a student you can pray anytime you want to. During class, while taking a test, in the cafeteria, on the bus and so on. I'm a Christian and this school prayer issue drives me nuts. It's such a non-issue.

[MissMillie]

19. Amen!

There is currently no law that prohibits any student from praying in school. What there is are laws that prohibit the school from organizing prayer.

What never ceases to amaze me is how the fundies are all so sure that everything that the public schools do is wrong, but they always want to have the public school in charge of organizing their kid's prayers. If the schools are so terrible at all they do, why would a fundie want to put the school in charge of this all important Christian practice. Why not exercise some personal responsibility?

[NMMNG]

20. Theofascist jerks

Any kid who wants to can pray all s/he wants in school, as long as it's done silently. And if these fools ever read the Bible they claim to base all of their principles on, they'd know that Jesus said people should pray in private, not in public for everyone to see like the showoff Pharisees. (Matthew 6:6)

[IndianaGreen]

21. I see no difference between these Christians and the Taliban

and they pose more of a threat to us than the Taliban ever did.

[noonwitch]

22. Since when are kids forbidden to pray in public school?

They can pray at many different times during the day:

1. Recess, for elementary school kids. If they would rather pray than play on the monkey bars, that is.
2. At lunchtime. I'm sure that if a kid wants to say grace quietly over his meal, no one will care.
3. Before class starts. A lot of public schools have a room available for christian kids to meet in before school, for prayer and Bible study.

There is no rule that forbids kids from quietly praying to themselves at school. There are rules about disruptive behavior. Christian parents should be instructing their children about the differences.

What these parents want is for the school staff to lead all the children in christian prayer. That would equate to a government sponsorship of a specific religion.

I think cases like the Soledad Cross are silly. I think cases like this are the important separation of church and state cases, because it involves not just sponsorship of a religion by the state, but also because it involves coercion.