Earlier this month, I posted about Columbus High School athlete Derrick Hayes. Hayes ran the anchor leg of his track team’s 4 x 100-meter relay and they had qualified for the state tournament… until he made a special gesture: Long story short, Christians were quick to call this religious discrimination… until Hayes and his family admitted religion had nothing to do with it. So that’s that, right? Derrick learned a lesson the hard way. The refs did what they were supposed to do. Let’s move on. Enter Dr. Jerry Newcombe. Writing for Truth in Action Ministries a week after all of this transpired, Newcombe didn’t get the memo that this wasn’t religious discrimination: [Click headline for more…] Read more
On April 9, students at Northwest Rankin High School in Mississippi attended a mandatory assembly featuring representatives from nearby Pinelake Baptist Church. The performers told the students how they needed to accept Jesus in their lives. They even showed a video: In the video, two young men were interviewed who had once led “troubled” lives. To find hope, the men described various behaviors such as turning to drugs, sex, cutting, suicide, and the like. They then explained how turning to Jesus Christ solved their problems and recommended that other people turn to Jesus Christ as well. According to the American Humanist Association, even when students tried to leave the Performing Arts Building so they wouldn’t have to listen to the preaching, they “were harassed by a principal and told to sit down.” Read more
Last Thursday, the newly-formed Louisville Area Christian Educator Support (LACES) group in Kentucky held a meeting for Christian Jefferson County Public Schools faculty members. So far, that’s perfectly legal. They even paid rent to the district for the meeting space. Last week’s kickoff meeting for LACES served as a strategy session for the 150 attendees, with organizers sharing ways to spread the good word at work without breaking the rules laid down by separation of church and state — and Kentucky law. Again, that all sounds fine. But is it really possible for teachers to “spread the good word” at work without breaking any laws…? Southern High School Principal Bryce Hibbard addressed that concern directly: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Another quick recap of the Katelyn Campbell story: Christian speaker (and Liberty University graduate) Pam Stenzel was invited to speak at George Washington High School in West Virginia. Student Katelyn Campbell told the media about how it wasn’t an optional assembly. In response, her principal, George Aulenbacher, threatened to tell Wellesley College (Katelyn’s future school) about how she was a “backstabber.” Katelyn told that to the media, too. Wellesley responded with open arms for Katelyn. As it turned out, one of the school board members confessed that her husband helped pay to bring the speaker to school. There’s another update and it’s not a good one. [Click headline for more…] Read more
You all remember the fourth grade “science” test that was circulating online? [Click headline for more…] Read more
Franklin Graham must have rejoiced at the news that I.R.S. officials improperly targeted conservative activist groups for audits. By way of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association — an outfit which not only pays zero taxes, but effectively receives a public subsidy to carry out its ministerial activities — Franklin has worked out quite a felicitous financial arrangement for his fiefdom. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Earlier this month, the Rockingham County Board of Education (North Carolina) debated whether or not they should pray at meetings instead of sticking to a moment of silence. One board member, Leonard Pryor, was so appalled this would even be considered that he resigned in protest, presumably before any lawsuits came their way: On Monday night, after plenty of discussion, the board correctly voted 7-3 against the prayers: [Click headline for more…] Read more
At a recent Christian conference, shock jock Pastor Mark Driscoll opened up with some comments about men who wear skinny jeans (they’re not real men, of course). At one point, he remarked, “If you drive a minivan, you’re a mini man” (Again with the “All men act like me!” routine). And he also said this: “I know who made the environment and he’s coming back and going to burn it all up. So yes, I drive an SUV.” Ah, yes… The old “Who cares about the environment because Jesus is coming back soon” line. It’s been used by evangelicals before. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Here’s the story of what happened at Lumpkin County High School (Georgia) as I wrote about it a week ago: 50 students prayed together (with an adult coach) for more than six hours, causing them to miss their classes. Four faculty members were also part of the prayer group. Superintendent Dewey Moye said he wouldn’t punish anybody over the incident. Now, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is saying the situation is even worse than we were led to believe (PDF)… in four specific areas. [Click headline for more…] Read more
