In Prince Edward Island, Canada, giving public school children a copy of the Gideon Bible has been the tradition for decades.
But just because something is tradition doesn’t mean it’s right. (Just ask Jessica Ahlquist.)

And one parent is finally pushing back:
“I’ll be held responsible for my child’s belief system, not the schools,” Michael Arsenault told the local CBC.
“I’m not against religion, any form or fashion… I just don’t like how the schools are getting involved in handing out these religious books.”
Makes sense. So what did the superintendent of the district have to say about it? He doesn’t even understand what the problem is:
Eastern School District, the board that has forged the long-standing agreement with Gideons, said L.M. Montgomery Elementary School in Charlottetown, where Mr. Arsenault sends his daughter, is not at all engaging in religious education by allowing the books to be handed out. It’s merely offering a service.
“We don’t think it’s providing religion in the school,” said Ricky Hood, superintendent of education. “It’s not talked about, there are no classes, there’s no instructional time devoted to it. No students are held captive to any of this.”
It’s just a service?! Great. Then they won’t mind if atheists send along 32984234 copies of The God Delusion to hand out to the kiddies.
Looks like that type of reaction has worked before:
But the [Waterloo Regional District School Board] rescinded its decision [to hand out Bibles only with parental permission] in June after the suggestion that a Kitchener masjid wanted to hand out free Korans through the same program caused a community uproar.
Beautiful. (Don’t you love watching Christians whine when their myths aren’t given special privileges?)
It doesn’t matter that no one has complained before. When you see how much backlash there is against anyone who complains about the Bible Giveaways, it shouldn’t be surprising that people are scared to do it. At least Mr. Arsenault has the courage to speak out against it.
(Image via Shutterstock)
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