My school district is huge. So huge that, when the year begins, we hold a district-wide meeting at a local megachurch, because it’s really the only place where we can comfortably fit everybody.
I understand why we do it and, to their credit, the church has always gone out of their way to keep their faith out of the public event. There’s no prayer, mentions of Jesus, etc. It’s all strictly professional.
You wouldn’t see any teachers walking out of the building just because they hold different religious beliefs.
You know why? Because the teachers know that their presence in the building does not mean they endorse the church’s teachings (or support the church in any way).
A religious bus driver in Iowa is in a similar situation. She had to drive a bus with the Iowa Atheist Bus Campaign ad on it.
Unlike the teachers in my district, this woman didn’t do her job properly.
It happened during shift change. There were some passengers on the bus, but DART officials said they called in a replacement driver and passengers had to wait only about 5 minutes.
DART officials said the driver faces disciplinary action for refusing to drive the bus.
Good. She deserves it. There’s nothing offensive about this ad and it’s not even talking about theists:
More importantly, driving a bus does not mean you endorse the paid-for advertising on the side of the vehicle.
This driver was simply not doing her job, and she will be punished for it. Des Moines Area Regional Transit (DART) handled the situation exactly as they should have.
(Thanks to Reginald for the link!)
