A high school in central Mississippi allegedly forced students to watch a Christian video and listen to church officials preach about Jesus Christ.
The American Humanist Association’s legal center filed a lawsuit against Northwest Rankin High School in Flowood on Wednesday, accusing the school of violating the student’s First Amendment rights.
The school has held at least three mandatory assemblies about finding hope in Jesus Christ this month, according to the lawsuit. The assemblies showed a video laced with Christian messages about overcoming personal hardships through Jesus Christ and were allegedly led by local church officials.
“See, before Jesus came, innocent blood had to be shed for our sins,” one of the church officials allegedly told the students. “There had to be an animal that was sacrificed to atone for our sin. There had to be innocent blood. So Jesus came and he was the innocent blood because he lived a perfect life. He was that innocent blood. See the last few years of Jesus’ life he traveled from region to region and country to country and he had 12 disciples that followed him everywhere. And he talked about the hope he was bringing.”
The assemblies concluded with a prayer and teachers blocked the exits to prevent students from leaving, the lawsuit claimed. A disillusioned student videotaped one of the assemblies.
Christianity, so wonderful that you have to be forcibly exposed to it while the exits are blocked for the protection of your immortal soul.
Did these people really suggest that animal sacrifice was necessary before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ? Yeah nothing superstitious or anti-intellectual about that!
I think these people have a good case for a lawsuit here. It is one thing for a student to talk about their belief in God and quite another for the school to strap you to your chairs and attempt to forcefully indoctrinate you.
No, I think we should let them keep doing this.
ReplyDeleteIt will drive young people away from religion in droves.
Well this should go over well with the fundies. Let's FORCE people into our belief system (you know, not like that evil socialist/commie Muslim Obama and his non-existent re-education camps.) No, we don't need no camps. We have public schools and a bunch of kids we can lock in and indoctrinate with public funds. I'm SURE that what the Founders had in mind when they talked about religious freedom. I hope this whole gang is fired and never allowed in a school again.
ReplyDeleteI had a thought...next week they can show a Jewish video, a Scientology video (or "Top Gun") a Muslim video, a Hindu video, and an atheist video. Then at least they can claim they were teaching "Comparative Religion."
ReplyDeleteDisgusting; as long as the students are behaving properly in school and society, it’s no one’s damn business what religion, if any, they follow. Teens are naturally defiant, so this will backfire.
ReplyDeleteA perfect life? White Jesus lived a perfect life? That's news to me. No wonder fundies like Sarah Palin and her defenders are always talking about how not-perfect they are, and that it gives them license to be horrible and selfish, but they are forgiven by his blood.
ReplyDeleteThis poor good man is used by whack-jobs everywhere to shove their gutteral mandations down the throats of children, women and gays.
There is no war on Christianity, Xtians are just so weak in faith that they have to force it on others so that it fortifies them against the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Water Buddha or whatnot.
Looks like SarahPAC is about to get a few more donations from the drooling minions:
ReplyDeletehttps://mobile.twitter.com/Robin_Leach/status/328008258994446337/photo/1
Bow-chik-a-wow-wow
Her fake boobs keep getting bigger.....
DeleteCaught red handed...kids and their mobile video devices...gotta luv it!:
ReplyDeleteIn a lawsuit filed by the American Humanist Association on behalf of the plaintiffs, students claim that the school sponsored mandatory “Christian Assemblies" organized by a local Evangelical church.
Alexis Smith, a senior at the school who says she attended one of the assemblies, says in the lawsuit:
"Faculty and parents stood near the exit door, preventing students from leaving," while an administrator "harassed several students who attempted to leave."
She claims that a classmate not involved with the suit videotaped the entire event.
The lawsuit claims the assembly for seniors included a video featuring a number of subjects:
A pornography addict, a gay man, a promiscuous woman, drug addicts and people suffering from depression.
The one factor that linked all of them was that they'd found hope in God.
When the video concluded, the lawsuit claims the school staff applauded, and a representative from the church came forward to tell the students that they, too, could find solutions to their problems by turning to Christianity.
"The assembly immediately turned into a full-blown lecture on the supposed miracles, powers, and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Church Representative encouraged all students to find sanctity in him," the complaint reads. "The Church Representative encouraged those who did not believe in 'Jesus Christ' to 'just be open.'"
The complaint goes on to claim that the church representative concluded the assembly with a Christian prayer.
According to an unnamed plaintiff and the plaintiff's friends, at least two separate assemblies for other classes played out similarly, and made other students feel uncomfortable.
"This practice is unquestionably a serious violation of the separation of church and state required by the Constitution," the group wrote. “It is sufficient that the presentation was school-sponsored and held on school grounds during class-time ... The fact that this event was mandatory, and was promoted by the school principal only compounded the Establishment Clause violation.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/mississippi-high-school-lawsuit_n_3164796.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037
Animal sacrifice was rampant throughout the ancient Jewish religion. Since christianity comes from Judaism, guess what?
ReplyDeleteAm I defending the practice? NO!
Am I defending the perpetrators in the above reports? HELL NO!
I hope EVERYONE - including those teachers who didn't participate actively (if any) - is charged with violation of the student's Constitutional rights and seriously punished.
Why the teachers who didn't participate? Simple. Ask this one question: Did they REPORT this? If not, they are just as guilty as those actively DOING the violations.
Failure to report a crime is a crime also.
I agree with Sally in MI. I hope that every last one of them is fired and never allowed near another school - of any sort!
Parents were involved too:
DeleteAlexis Smith, a senior at the school who says she attended one of the assemblies, says in the lawsuit:
"Faculty and parents stood near the exit door, preventing students from leaving," while an administrator "harassed several students who attempted to leave."
She claims that a classmate not involved with the suit videotaped the entire event.
These students were held hostage, physically prevented from leaving .
The students should have called 911.
What would you do if you found out teachers and other parents held your child hostage??
I would want to file charges immediately.
You have to ask yourself, what's wrong with the parents who refused to allow students to leave and then...WTF is wrong with the parents who did nothing for their own children....this happened ..3..times!!
ALL of these parents are child abusers.
OMG, I live in Rankin County!! I moved here from Lancaster, CA and I thought that that city and the area called "Antelope Valley" was too conservative and christian for me. I was wrong. If you can't get enough audience for your lecture so that you have to forcibly corral them and lock the exits, there is something terribly flawed in your message. This is just plain wrong.
ReplyDeleteGiven that this is Mississippi, one would assume most of the students *are* Christian, so what did they need the assembly for?
DeleteI had another thought. (Yeah. Yeah. No comments from the peanut gallery!) Is there any evidence of the Justice Department looking into this?
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that with such a clear violation of the Constitution they should be all over this like stink on shit!
Why are the students and parents being left to fight this absurdity?
I would be more than furious if this happened to my children. They are "saving the world"
ReplyDeleteI'd pull my kids out of that school so fast it wouldn't be funny! How dare they act in this manner. This message is obviously from a 'non' christian!
ReplyDeleteI don't believe the majority that spout their beliefs due to the fact they don't act the teachings. Frauds!
I wonder if this batch of fundamentalists realize that, in the context of these United States, a victory for them means Buddhists, Muslims or Hindus could similarly impose their views on captive children.
ReplyDeleteOf course, one of the marks of a dogmatist is the failure to imagine any right-thinking person disagreeing with their views.
I hope the Southern District upholds the standard Establishment clause interpretation- no mandatory or, even if optional, publicly funded religious education in public schools. It will be an interesting test of Chief Justice Guirola's court, which recently dismissed with prejudice a "global warming" themed case.
I grew up in SC. I am, unfortunately, still here. Trust me when I say that if the Federal interpretation banning religious teaching in public schools is used to punish those who did this shit, or worse yet, to actually enforce the ban, the Troops would have to be called out - AGAIN!
DeleteThese people are too stupid to even think about laws or consequences beyond their front door - and are PROUD of it!
By coincidence, last Sunday's episode of The Vikings (History Channel) featured the main characters making a trip to the Norse temple at Upsallah. The festival was held every nine years, and at the end, nine of each kind of animal were sacrificed. Including humans. Big difference was those who were offered chose to do so themselves. I was really struck by the words and sentiments of the character Leif. Humble and truly Christlike, and yet this pagan would put most modern Christians to shame.
ReplyDeleteI keep telling my various Catholic, Baptist and Mormon friends who say we need more religion in public schools--exactly *which* religious tradition should be taught.
And I'll bet they give you a surprised, stunned look, too!
DeleteI hope they sue and win. Blocking the exits while forcing people to attend a religious recruitment ritual is against the separation of church and state, AND possibly against fire safety ordinances.
ReplyDeleteThe closest to this that I experienced was a teacher mimeographed creationist material and handed it out in my son's science class, the parents spoke up, the administration apologized and terminated the teacher for not following the approved lesson plan. Teach it at home or church, but leave it out of the public arena.