Bible distribution complaint yields conflicting accounts

[The Straight Story]

Bible distribution complaint yields conflicting accounts

— A Limestone County parent who complained to the American Civil Liberties Union that his children felt pressured into accepting free Bibles met last week with the school’s principal and the superintendent of schools.

...

Carroll received a letter Tuesday from Allison Neal of the ACLU that alleges teachers distributed Bibles in a manner that “coerced” children and that one teacher endorsed creationism.

The parent, Thomas Moore, stated that his children — a daughter in fifth grade and a son in second grade — experienced “several troubling and likely unconstitutional practices, including Bible distributions by school staff and endorsements of creationsim by a fifth grade teacher.”

The county schools system has a policy for distribution of literature — including religious materials — that state they can be placed on a table for children to take if they wish. The policy was created in 2003 after a similar complaint was made when Gideons International distributed free Bibles. The Bibles distributed this year were donated by Gideons and local churches.

http://enewscourier.com/homepage/x436929261/Bible-distribution-complaint-yields-conflicting-accounts

[Curmudgeoness]

1. What the hell! Bibles distributed in public schools?

When will these fanatics learn that we have a separation of church and state? Why do we have to continually tell them?

And the parents are right, this is a high pressure tactic to hit grade school kids with.

[jwirr]

2. I remember that when I was a kid some 55 years ago. The only

difference was that the children were told that if they wanted a free Bible they could come to the office to pick it up. Most did not. We would have had parents very upset if they had passed them out and expected each student to take one regardless if they were Christian or not. Our school was mainly made up of Christians and atheists. But they did not force anyone.