Posted on 05/12/2003 8:37:48 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants
MAYNARDVILLE, Tenn. — Every year, hundreds of Union County students take a field trip for the soul. Children are excused from class, loaded onto school buses with teachers and sent to a three-day Christian revival.
"I am going to ask you a question," an evangelical leader recently yelled to a sea of students ready for their field trip. "If you are glad to be here, say amen!"
With the ardor of a pep rally, the students shouted back: "AAAA-men!"
Not everyone is so enthusiastic.
Fourteen-year-old India Tracy said she was harassed and attacked by classmates for nearly three years after she declined to attend Baptist Pastor Gary Beeler's annual crusade because of her family's pagan religion.
Her family has filed a federal lawsuit against Union County schools, claiming the crusade, prayers over the loudspeaker, a Christmas nativity play, a Bible handout and other proselytizing activities in the rural school system have become so pervasive they are a threat to safety and religious liberty.
Union County officials say the system is neutral when it comes to religious activities, pointing out that the crusade is voluntary, teachers chaperone on their own time and school buses are operated by private contractors.
"We do not endorse, promote or prohibit it," said school spokesman Wayne Goforth.
District officials say the crusade, now in its sixth year, is like any other field trip, with parental permission required to let the children attend for two hours a day over three days. On the crusade's final day this year, April 30, more than 1,300 of the school system's 3,000 students attended.
"All local boards of education have the authority to allow students to voluntarily attend these types of events," said Christy Ballard, legal counsel to the Tennessee Department of Education.
But, she added, "it is very clear in the statute that they can't harass a student or coerce them to participate ... and, of course, they can't be school-sponsored."
Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center in Arlington, Va., said school officials and Christian leaders in Union County need a "crash course on the meaning of the First Amendment -- especially the part that separates church from state."
Beeler, 63, who lives and preaches in Union County, said he has been contacted by communities around the country wanting to set up similar crusades, and sees nothing wrong with children getting time off from school to attend them.
"The principals, the teachers, the bus drivers all have told us that they have less behavior problems after this crusade than they do before. So that tells us the positive effect," he said.
India said she was called "Satan worshipper" and accused of eating babies when it was revealed she was a pagan. She said she was taunted, found slurs painted over her locker and was injured when classmates assaulted her and slammed her head into the locker.
The lawsuit said school officials took no disciplinary action. In a May 2 legal response, school officials said they acted appropriately, denied the attacks happened, or said they were unaware of them.
Paganism is an ancient religious tradition that embraces kinship with nature, positive morality and the idea that there is both a female and male side of Deity.
After Christmas break in early 2002, India said three boys chased her down a hall at Horace Maynard Middle School, grabbed her by the neck and said, "You better change your religion or we'll change it for you."
She broke free and fled into the girls' bathroom. A teacher stopped the boys from following her, the lawsuit said.
"That was pretty much the last straw because she was terrified," said India's father, Greg Tracy.
The Tracys took India out of school on Feb. 26, 2002.
A straight-A student, she belonged to the leadership-service organization Beta Club, chess club, and band. She was the only girl on the middle school football team.
Now she takes Internet courses at home and hopes to transfer to a public school in Knoxville, 25 miles away.
"When was it too hard? I don't know," India said. "On a couple of occasions it was too hard and then it got easier and then it started getting bad again and I would come home bawling my eyes out."
Tell it to the kids in public schools. Tell it to the people in communities where they want to pray over the intercom at a football game. The right to be openly Christian is being chipped away little by little.
I think hostility towards individual practice of religion in schools has been masked as being neutral. It isn't neutral.
For example, someone wants to pray while in school. Or maybe they want to carry around bibles, maybe even hand them out. If similar practices are allowed (speaking, carrying books), but those are disallowed simply because they're religious then the school isn't neutral, it's hostile and that's a violation of rights.
OTOH, if the school uses tax money to buy bibles for students, or the teacher leads the class in prayer, that isn't neutral either.
I would prefer government stayed truly neutral. Hostility towards free practice of religion is equally as wrong as state promoted religion. Then again, I don't even advocate public school so it would be a moot issue.
Forced neutrality of the state, the teachers, the principals
The state has no right to a religion, or any other right. It is merely an instrument of the people to uphold individuals rights. Teachers and principles, when on the clock are agents of the state. If they want to pray or whatever on their lunch, etc.. that's their right. Leading the class in prayer while on the taxpayer dime and representing the state is way wrong.
and the students.....
That's another story. Their right to practice their religion must be upheld.
No, clearly the government should be sponsoring religious events
Having the government sponsor something, in the midst of all this paranoia, is actually the one thing that is unconstitutional.
Mandatory prayer at every stoplight and crosswalk
Ditto.
First period in all schools to consist of mandatory prayer
This is getting redundent.
I understand you are attempting to be sarcastic like me. Its funny, but unfortunately that doesn't change the reality that you are still wrong. No one is saying that the government can, or should force a religion. That is not the case with this article. In fact its the opposite, that you are trying to use the government to stop individuals who work for the government from practicing their religion volutarily, without government funds, off of work time. It may not be PC or feel good, but this is a 1st Amendment issue if there ever was one.
The sad truth is, the only one trying to force a religion(Atheism)-through-the-state in this case, is your side.
Leave these people alone.
You really need to get out more.
So that my daughters can be picked on in school, for their religion, their height, their clothes, their personalities? Puh-leeze!
We get out plenty, but not to schools, thank God!
My sarcasm was in response to yours about the 32nd amendment found by Libertarians.
These folks are using a government school to promote a religious event. They are doing it for a particular sect of Christians. They are not doing it for Catholics, or Jews, or Muslims, or...
By doing so they are lending the weight of the government school to a particular sect's teachings. It's hard to imagine a more clear violation of the first amendment, unless they held it on school time and forced everybody to go.
Meetings of this type are often held after school is out for the year. That violates no one's rights, does not lend school authority to the meeting, and is clearly appropriate. If they did it that way, I'd be all for it.
Meetings of this type are often held after school is out for the year. That violates no one's rights, does not lend school authority to the meeting, and is clearly appropriate. If they did it that way, I'd be all for it.
Well, we seem to be coming to the same conclusion from two different points. I would be against this if it was forced, but don't know where you think this is government endorsing when these are free people being religious on there own time. "Union County officials say the system is neutral when it comes to religious activities, pointing out that the crusade is voluntary, teachers chaperone on their own time and school buses are operated by private contractors."
Sounds independent to me. Where are the 1st Amendment right's violations? Unless, of course, this were banned by the state.
Excellent point. Sounds like just another example of leftist whining.
It's hardly surprising they're justifying their position - but the facts don't bear them out.
1) They close the school for a three day religious event.
2) It's done during the school year.
3) Teachers and school staff participate.
4) The event is held by a single Christian sect. The presentation includes the religious beliefs of that sect only.
5) They don't close the school for other religious groups' meetings.
This is obviously biased behavior, based on religion, in favor of one group's beliefs. This would be entirely appropriate for a private school, but not a public school.
When my daughter attended a private school associated with a Lutheran church, she attended chapel regularly during the school day. That the school considered it part of the curriculum was certainly reasonable.
I must have missed that part. Is that in the article? That's an important detail.
3) Teachers and school staff participate.
If they choose to, that's their right. I don't like the trend that the NEA and ACLU have taken that teachers can't be religious people because they are state employees.
4) The event is held by a single Christian sect. The presentation includes the religious beliefs of that sect only.
Most Christians are of a single religious sect. However, that too, is their right. I was raised a Catholic, I'm sure no one else here would want me saying every other denomenation had to be that! Kids are smart, they know bias when they see it. If 1,300 choose to go, they're going for a reason.
As I heave, a deep sigh of frustration;
That, my Lib friend, is one of today's main problems. People are way too willing to go to court instead of addressing the issues on a local level.
The problem is not the fact that some kids go to a Church camp during school hours, nor is the problem this kid's families wacko religion (see my post #60), the problem is the parents refusal to accept that other kids have a right to worship as they see fit, just as they do.
and for more lunacy, have a look!
Mine must be defective also. It says nothing about freedom FROM religion, which is what all these atheists want.
Yeah, sounds like you both are using a non-Libertarian Constitution. It happens. See my post #42 for details on some of the "Rights" and "amendments" you obviously didn't know where in there.
I thought Catholics were Christian, are you saying they aren't?
I know...I am starting a fire here...
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