Launches campaign to prevent blatant religious discrimination
Posted: December 3, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Diana Lynne
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A civil-liberties legal defense organization has put the "Grinch" on notice he won't be able to strip Whoville or any other city in the U.S. of Yuletide glee this holiday season.
 Dr. Seuss' "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" |
The Liberty Counsel launched a nationwide campaign to prevent blatant religious discrimination by bringing lawsuits against any governmental agency that acts like the notorious Dr. Seuss character and eliminates public displays of religious symbols or songs.
Conversely, the organization announced it will defend any governmental entity that abides by the Constitution and allows the equal expression of religious views.
"We are resolved to stop the Grinch from stealing Christmas," declared Mathew Staver, the group's president and general counsel.
Last year Liberty Counsel successfully represented six Massachusetts high school students who were suspended for distributing to their classmates candy canes with an attached message about the Christian origin of candy canes.
As WorldNetDaily reported, the Westfield High School students asked permission of the principal, Thomas Daley, to hand out the candy canes the day before Christmas break was to begin. Daley refused the request, saying the Christian message contained in the literature may be "offensive" to other students. He then consulted with the district superintendent, who concurred.
Believing they had an obligation to God to distribute the candy canes and the attached messages, the members of the L.I.F.E. Bible Club defied the principal and distributed 450 candy canes during non-class time. After returning to school after the holiday break, the students were suspended for going against Daley's wishes.
The court struck down the school policy, reinstated the students, and ordered the school to pay almost $30,000.00 in damages to the students.
Among examples of current prospects for lawsuits:
- Public school administrators in Wisconsin have instructed students to substitute "secular words" for "religious" ones like "Jesus" or "God" in the Christmas carols they sing during a Christmas concert.
A Michigan public school recently segregated and hid all the "religious" books on Hanukkah and Christmas.
Employees at a public school in Georgia were recently told they are not allowed to conduct any Christmas-related activities, including reading Christmas books, making Christmas decorations and wearing Christmas-related attire.
According to Staver, schools may not prohibit access to religious books, because to do so discriminates against the religious viewpoint of the message contained in the book and public employers may not discriminate against staff by prohibiting Christmas celebration.
Contrary to popular belief, publicly sponsored nativity scenes on public property are constitutional so long as there is a secular symbol of the holiday as part of the display. For example, the government may publicly display Christian biblical figures Mary, Joseph and Jesus so long as part of the display includes a secular symbol of the holiday, such as Santa Claus.
The same goes for vocal presentations, said Staver. Public school students may sing Christian Christmas carols, such as "Silent Night, Holy Night" so long as they also sing secular songs, like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
Privately sponsored nativity scenes erected and displayed by private citizens or groups in a public area are also constitutional and do not require a secular symbol as part of the display.