Free Republic.
Posted on 08/22/2012 11:46:56 PM PDT by Hunton Peck
A Wisconsin-based group has accused a Georgia high school football coach of violating the First Amendment by allowing local churches to prepare meals for his team.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the superintendent of Walker County Schools demanding an “immediate investigation” into Ridgeland High School football coach Mark Mariakis.
The FFRF is a Wisconsin-based group whose purpose is to “protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church.”
They are demanding the school system launch an investigation into allegations that Coach Mariakis allowed local churches to prepare pre-game meals for his football team. They also allege that the coach prayed with his team, used Bible verses in motivational speeches and on team shirts and participated in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
“Taking public school football teams to church, even for a meal, is unconstitutional,” wrote FFRF attorney Andrew Seidel. “This program is an egregious violation of the Establishment Clause and must cease immediately.”
Seidel said taking school children to churches and having ministers “present the Gospel of Jesus Christ” and having the food blessed “shatters the protections the First Amendment put in place.”
The Walker County School system released a statement acknowledging they have received the letter and are reviewing its contents.
The FFRF said a local individual complained about a longstanding tradition of local churches providing meals to the teenage football players on game day. The complainant said a minister would typically deliver remarks “about the Christian religion.”
“The fact that Mariakis visits several churches instead of one does not mitigate the violation,” Seidel wrote.
The Chattanooga Valley Baptist Church is scheduled to provide a meal for the football team in late October.
Richie White, the church’s youth director, said he was quite surprised to hear that an outside group had issues with feeding...
(Excerpt) Read more at radio.foxnews.com ...
Sure can’t argue with that.
I am so tired of these people.
The word “egregious” continues to be applied to more and more trivial circumstances.
It’s in one of those penumbras or eminences. You have to be tripping on acid to see it; at least, the word is out that that’s how Justice Douglas found it.
How does that violate the First Amendment?
There should be a contiuous organized prayer vigil on the sidewalk in front of the Freedom From Religion headquarters just to annoy these people, I mean pray for them - ha ha. Give them a taste of their own medicine!
Hey FFRF, get off your mean spirited asses and offer to host
the team for a pre-game meal. I’m sure the players will
enjoy your tofu burgers and organic celery sticks.
They should be listed as a “Hate Group” and noted for their Christianaphobia.
More like the NAMBLA of atheism.
Shhh.... Our local Baptist church holds my daughter’s school’s team annual Volleyball banquet, and serve a delicious meal. They even let my Catholic daughter in and we have several Methodists and a Jew!
I pity them personally. Their every move exposes them as hate mongers, nit-pickers, spoilers, people who seek to shut other people up rather than convince them. They are so fixated on one Human “Right” that they are totally prepared to deny every other. They are silly, immature and impractical. It is quite obvious to anyone with more than five brain cells that they have ulterior motives for all this. They give themselves fine titles and all-encompassing remits, but the group probably consists of four or five self-important trolls far more close-minded and fanatical than the real people they rail against.
I also dont worry abou them. The more of these “complaints” they make the more obvious all these traits become.
There isn't a 'separation' save for the establishment clause. Few people can explain what Madison intended with that clause or Jefferson's letter to the Baptists. Can you?
Daily WTF alert!
to “protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church
There is no Constitutional principle of seperation. That is a judicial ruling of a modern day court. Nothing in the Constituion seperates Church and State.
(Taking public school football teams to church, even for a meal, is unconstitutional)
That is the one of the stupidist things I have ever heard....
Few people can explain what Madison intended with that clause or Jefferson’s
Well yes actually. The Government can not pick a National Religion and mandate that all citizens adhere to that religion.
You know, what they left England for.......
Having a Christmas tree in a publ;ic square when 85-95 percent of the citizne celebrate “Christmas” for whateber reason is NOT what the founder meant.......
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