Religion
Related: About this forumThe Louisiana Public School Cramming Christianity Down Students’ Throats
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/26/the-louisiana-public-school-cramming-christianity-down-students-throats.htmlAndrew Cohen
U.S. NEWS 01.26.14
A Buddhist family sued Sabine Parish School Board for violating their right to religious freedom. The lawsuit contains a shocking list of religious indoctrination.
Congratulations, you are the parent of a public school student! And welcome to Sabine Parish, Louisiana. We are so happy to have your child learning with us and we are so grateful that your tax dollars have permitted us to establish the educational programs and academic atmosphere weve developed over the years here. Let us provide you with a brief guide about what your childs life will be like while he or she is at school with us each day.*
Lets start with what your child will see when she enters or departs our school. Paintings of Jesus Christ, Bible verses, and Christian devotional phrases adorn the walls of many classrooms and hallways, including the main hallway leading out to the bus pick-up area. A lighted, electronic marquee placed just outside the building scrolls Bible verses every day.
In the main foyer of the school, one display informs students that ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. It includes several posters urging students to Pray, Worship, and Believe, while a poster displayed near the waiting area of the main office announces that ts okay to pray.
more at link
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)And you can't prove they're wrong, so what right do you have to call their activities into question?
Nika
(546 posts)... beliefs. People have a right to pray, but cannot use public schools to prey on those who do not belong to their faiths.
This should be taken to court to remedy this grievous violation of the Constitutional rights of those who are not Christian.
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)But what you're not aware of is that some in this room believe that it's terrible wrong to hold people up for criticism or ridicule for following their deeply held beliefs.
At least, it's wrong when other people do it...then it gets labeled "bigotry" and "intolerance". When they do it, it's perfectly fine and totally justified.
rurallib
(62,401 posts)constitution is read to them? "Nothing in there that applies to me." I suppose.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)I know they are in a very rural area, but is no one providing oversight?
Do they not have any lawyers on staff at the state or parish level?
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)the same rigorous oversight that the government exercises to make sure that absolutely none of the activities funded by the Office of Faith-Based (sic) Initiatives involve proselytizing or religious activity. You do have full confidence in that, right?
Rob H.
(5,350 posts)It also looks as if it isn't confined to just that school.
The whole thing is here.
by Scott Lane
*snip*
We assumed that the Superintendent was not aware of all the unlawful activities at Negreet and would want to know about them so she could rectify the situation, but we could not have been more wrong. She was dismissive and told us that we live in the "Bible Belt" and that this is just how things are. She added that, because she was not offended by the fact that "the lady who cuts (her) toenails has a statue of Buddha," we should not be upset by the blatant proselytizing at Negreet or the bullying and harassment of our son and the degradation of his Buddhist faith.
*snip*
The only recourse offered by the Superintendent was to transfer our son to another school in the school district where, she claimed, there were "more Asians." Hoping to stop the bullying, we agreed to do so, but it turns out that these unconstitutional practices go beyond just Negreet. Even at the new school, school officials regularly promote Christianity, and we are fearful that our son will eventually be targeted again because of his Buddhist beliefs.
We don't begrudge others their right to their Christian faith. But that's why the separation of church and state is so important: It gives us all the breathing room and freedom to believe what we want to believe and to practice those beliefs without undue influence or interference by the government. Forcing your beliefs on another is not freedom; it is oppression.
And when official religious practices are this rampant and pervasive, like they are in Sabine Parish public schools, it is tantamount to religious discrimination. It excludes children and families of minority faiths and beliefs and creates a hostile environment for them. It undermines everyone's religious freedom. I see that now.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)This is beyond outrageous.
Rob H.
(5,350 posts)Could the administrators could be more dismissive and tone-deaf?
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)This happens on some level or another all over the Bible Belt, where whacked-out, entitled fundies are a majority, and have no qualms about trampling the rights of anyone who doesn't believe as they do. And damn those "strident" atheists for speaking out and not just shutting the fuck up and making nice.
Rob H.
(5,350 posts)It isn't new, either--we had not one, but three Christian prayers at my Bible Belt public high school graduation ceremony 25+ years ago. As a lifelong atheist it made me extremely uncomfortable, especially since the prayers weren't listed in the graduation program so no one had the choice of opting out in advance.
Edited again to add that I'm still in the Bible Belt (Memphis, TN) and I see fundagelicals pulling this kind of thing pretty often. There was a change to the city's anti-discrimination policy proposed recently that would've added the words "sexual orientation" and the right-wing religious wackaloons couldn't start grandstanding on the steps of city hall fast enough. I'm sure there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth on their part when it passed, anyway. Sucked to be them that day.
Htom Sirveaux
(1,242 posts)That's very brave of them in light of what their neighbors' response might well be.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)I would imagine that others have raised concerns about this in the past and been "warned" to just leave it alone.
The communities in this part of Louisiana are very insular. They don't like outsiders or outside influences and often operate in something of a vacuum.
Htom Sirveaux
(1,242 posts)is going on there that they don't want the rest of us to know about. And of course, I'll bet that money from the outside somehow isn't tainted at all...
cbayer
(146,218 posts)They really do function under a different set of rules at times.