Texas Parents Challenge Unconstitutional Bible Class in Public Schools

[Bozita]

Source: ACLU press release

Texas Parents Challenge Unconstitutional Bible Class in Public Schools (5/16/2007)


ACLU and PFAWF File Lawsuit Against Ector County School Board for Impermissibly Promoting Religion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: [e-mail]

ODESSA, TX - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, People For the American Way Foundation, and the law firm of Jenner & Block, LLP filed a federal lawsuit today in the Western District of Texas on behalf of eight parents who say that the Bible course offered in their local high schools violates their religious liberty by promoting particular religious beliefs to children in their community. Some of the parents have children who have graduated from these high schools and some have children who will soon enter them. The case was filed against the Ector County Independent School District Board of Trustees and eight of its members and officials.

"Parents, not public schools, should teach religious beliefs to children," said Dr. T. Jeremy Gunn, Director of the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. "Governments and public schools have no business deciding which religious beliefs are true and then using public schools to proselytize children."

In December 2005, the Ector County School Board voted to adopt a Bible course created by a private organization called the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS). The elective course, called The Bible in History and Literature, is now taught in two high schools in Odessa, Texas — Permian High School and Odessa High School. Rather than teaching about the Bible objectively, the course promotes religion generally as well as a particular religious viewpoint that is not shared by Jews, Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and many Protestants.

"It's important for students to be educated about religion and the role that people of faith have played in our history, but the Bible course being taught in Odessa gets a grade of F for failing to comply with the Constitution. The course is not designed to teach about religion — it's designed to promote religion, and a very particular religious viewpoint at that," said Judith E. Schaeffer, Legal Director of People For the American Way Foundation. "While public schools can teach students about the Bible, the Odessa Bible course presents the Bible to students from a specific sectarian perspective, and that's a clear violation of the First Amendment."

Doug Hildebrand, one of the parents bringing the lawsuit and an ordained elder and deacon at a local Presbyterian church, said, "Religion is very important in my family and we are very involved in our religious community. But the public schools are no place for religious indoctrination that promotes certain beliefs that not all the kids in the school share. It seems like a church has invaded our school system — and it's not my church."

"This class is not about educating students. It is about proselytizing one set of religious beliefs to the exclusion of others," said Daniel Mach, Director of Litigation for the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. "Students who don't share those beliefs should not be treated as outsiders by their own schools."

The Bible course uses the King James Version as its main textbook, which is not the Bible of choice for a wide range of Christian denominations, nor for members of the Jewish faith. It requires students to give "true" or "false" answers to questions that are a matter of religious faith. Although it would be appropriate in Sunday School, the public school course unconstitutionally uses the Bible to instill religious life lessons, having students memorize biblical passages and then discuss how they have affected their lives, the group filing the lawsuits said. The course also presents an unbalanced viewpoint of American history that promotes specific religious beliefs that is in conflict with objective scholarly standards.

"This course is not taught from an objective point of view, as the Constitution requires. There are plenty of ways to constitutionally teach kids about religion and its place in society, history, and literature. But, despite its misleading name, this class doesn't cut it. It's basically a Sunday School class within the walls of a public school," said Lisa Graybill, Legal Director of the ACLU of Texas.

The NCBCPS course has been deeply criticized by Bible scholars for its lack of accuracy, ignorance of scholarly research, and biased promotion of a particular religious interpretation of the Bible. Although the NCBCPS defends its curriculum as being constitutional, its own website reveals a different agenda, urging people to contact NCBCPS as a "first step to get God back in your public school."

The lawsuit asks that the Ector County School Board be ordered to refrain from teaching the Bible course or any course like it that would unconstitutionally promote religion generally and particular religious beliefs specifically.

A copy of the complaint is available online at:
www.aclu.org/religion/schools/29683lgl20070516.html

To learn more about the case, go to: www.aclu.org/bibleinpublicschools



Read more: http://www.aclu.org/religion/schools/29738prs20070516.html

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Mods: This is a press release and, as such, is not subject to copyright law.

[bluestateguy]

1. The Lemon Test

This practice seems to violate the Lemon Test by excessively entangling government into religion.

Odessa Permian High School should stick to football.

[EVDebs]

2. Actually, a history course teaching the Knights Templar

during the Crusades would be an interesting course for anyone to take. John J. Robinson, now deceased, had books like Born In Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry and Dungeon, Fire and Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades.

The Knights Templar were the precursors of the Freemasons, who founded this country. The 'invisible wars' of the Knights Templar vs. the Knights Hospitaller (now Knights of Malta) shows us the background of independent thought vs. fascism and autocratic rule.

Thom Hartmann had a guy on today's show discussing Freemasonry. The toleration of the Templar/Freemason views goes a long way to undertanding today's situation.

[Bozita]

3. Fascinating discussion on Hartmann - still ongoing

Name is Nicholas Hager.

[EVDebs]

8. Interesting that the Boston Tea Party was done by Revere's lodge

And that the guest says a British lord was leading the masonic East India Company. Go figure .

The "Left Behind" end-times view is really the old Jesuit 'futurist' eschatology used in order to point away from the papacy as an 'anti-christ', which was the Lutheran and Protestant viewpoint at least up until the late 1800s.

Very interesting.

BTW, one of the best books re the Old Testament that I've read is The Harlot By The Side Of The Road by Jonathan Kirsch. Sex and violence is all over in the Bible. They sure they want little kiddies reading this ?

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Guess I'll just have to give another donation to the ACLU!!

[Parche]

5. bible

You see how hippokritical they are, they say that gay people want to push their agenda
down everyones throats (No Pun Intended)

But they are always quick to push the ignorant bible down everyones throats............

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. This is great!

The fact that it was a Presbyterian elder who objected is especially telling, as it cuts down the argument that "godless liberals" are fighting it.

When I taught school in the 80s, a Baptist preacher's wife had a "Bible Club" after school, which used school facilities and was advertised via the PA system. I felt that was very wrong. Soooooo.....when I taught the kids their world history, I brought in OTHER holy books, and played tapes of kirtans! Might sound strange, but the principal allowed it, because I presented them not as being "right" but rather as a part of the culture that helped shape how the people saw the world.

[jazzjunkysue]

9. The after school club is OK if kids run it and adults keep quiet.

But this case crosses the line because the adults are using their positions in school to advance a particular belief system.

This school will be shelling out mucho dinero in legal fees and possibly even financial compensation, and the school will lose.

This is a good clear case of violation of the establishment clause.

[AlCzervik]

7. The bible like the 10 commandments don't exist unless they're displayed in public.

:sarcasm:

[rocktivity]

10. CUE THE VONAGE THEME, YOU ALL!

By the way, I learned about the Bible's influence on history, literature and art in my CLASSES in history, literature and art!

:woohoo:
rocknation

[rocktivity]

11. Not religious now, but was raised as a Presbyterian

And still have my (revised standard) bible. I earned it at the age of nine by having to memorize and recite the 23rd Psalm, the 100th Pslam, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostle's Creed!

:rofl:
rocknation

[knitter4democracy]

12. I'd join that.

We're Eastern Orthodox, and that program sounds like we'd disagree with it.

I'm not happy with the Catholic school our kids are in, and it's the closest church, theology-wise and practice-wise, to ours. If that doesn't work, how can there possibly be any kind of Bible class in public schools? You can teach it as literature (I did in my World Lit class in the Catholic school I taught in alongside the Rig Vedas and the Koran), but you can't teach it as faith.

[MasonJar]

13. Thank God for the ACLU.

[Ilsa]

14. There was another course recommended that doesn't proselytize,

and that presents more information about the foundations of other religions. But no, these fundies had to pick the most radical course to implement in the schools. Their real objective is clear: try to get everyone to convert to their idea of proper religious belief. It makes the brainwashing alot easier if they can get them while they are young.

[Doubtful Optimist]

15. "It seems like a church has invaded our school system -

- and it's not my church."

Doug Hildebrand, one of the parents bringing the lawsuit and an ordained elder and deacon at a local Presbyterian church, said, "Religion is very important in my family and we are very involved in our religious community. But the public schools are no place for religious indoctrination that promotes certain beliefs that not all the kids in the school share. It seems like a church has invaded our school system — and it's not my church."




I wonder if he would think the same way if it was his church.