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God and Prayers; pray for our society
Topic Started: Nov 22 2006, 12:09 PM (263 Views)
Mrs.M
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Unfortunately the word 'God' and anything related to it has become taboo in our: schools, government and often in public places. Stores are afraid to say Christmas, or any word God, or Church-related. Shame on our society that has succumbed to the few groups or people that are offended by religion or any mention of God.

Foul language has become acceptable and tolerated more than the words "God", "Hanukah", or "Christmas"

God Bless all of you that maintain the importance of God and religion.
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Mrs.M
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After doing a few hours of surfing and searching this lawsuit could explain why the district hushes any mention of that religious holiday in December.

DeNooyer v. Livonia Public Schools, U.S. App. LEXIS 30084 (6th Cir. 1993)

Facts:


Second grader Kelly DeNooyer was a student at McKinley Elementary School in Livonia, Michigan. Her teacher started a program where a student in her class would be "VIP of the week." This program was designed to allow students to receive special attention from classmates and be allowed special "show and tell" privileges to present before the class. The goal of this program was to give students a sense of self-confidence and poise based on their verbal presentations.

Kelly DeNooyer was chosen as VIP of the Week and was allowed to bring in an item to discuss and display to her classmates. She brought in a videotape of her performance of a religious song at a church service. The teacher reviewed the tape and told Ms. DeNooyer that she would not be allowed to show it in class.

Issue:

Whether a teacher's refusal to allow a student to show as part of a classroom exercise a videotape of the student singing a religious song violated that student's First Amendment rights.

Holding:

In a 3-0 vote, a Sixth Circuit panel held that requiring a student to complete classroom exercises in ways that best achieve the goal of the exercise in question does not violate the free speech rights of the student.

Reasoning:

The court found that school classrooms are closed forums, designed not to allow the free expression of ideas, but to create an educational environment. As such, as long as teachers have legitimate, pedagogical reasons for their actions, they do not violate the Constitution when they require students to abide by the express rules as well as the goals of assignments.


Majority:

"We hold that educators do not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the style and content of student speech in school-sponsored expressive activities so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns." (Judge Nancy G. Edmunds)

******************

Does the Establishment Clause apply to students in a public school?
The Establishment Clause speaks to what government may or may not do. It does not apply to the private speech of students. School officials should keep in mind the distinction between government (in this case "school") speech endorsing religion -- which the Establishment Clause prohibits -- and private (in this case "student") speech endorsing religion, which the free speech and free exercise clauses protect.1

Student religious expression may, however, raise Establishment Clause concerns when such expression takes place before a captive audience in a classroom or at a school-sponsored event. Students have the right to pray alone or in groups or to discuss their faith with classmates, as long as they aren't disruptive or coercive. And they may express their religious views in class assignments or discussions, as long as it is relevant to the subject under consideration and meets the requirements of the assignment.2 But students don’t have a right to force a captive audience to participate in religious exercises.

It isn't entirely clear under current law where teachers and administrators may draw a line limiting student religious expression before a captive audience in a classroom or school-sponsored event. In several recent cases, lower courts have deferred to the judgment of educators about when to limit the religious expression of students in a classroom or school setting. A general guide might be to allow students to express their religious views in a classroom or at a school event as long as they don't ask the audience to participate in a religious activity, use the opportunity to deliver a proselytizing sermon, or give the impression that their views are supported by or endorsed by the school. 3

Notes
1 See Bd. of Education v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226 (1990).

2 Settle v. Dickson County Sch. Bd., 53 F.3d 152 (6th Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 989 (1995).

3 DeNooyer v. Livonia Public Schools, 799 F. Supp. 744 (E.D. Mich. 1992); Guidry v. Broussard, 897 F.2d 181 (5th Cir. 1989); Cole v. Oroville Union High Sch., 229 F.3d 1092 (9th Cir. 2000).

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SJC
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It's not just the atheists. There are plenty of religious people out there that don't believe in God: Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Shintoists, Sikhs, Confucians, etc. I'm probably missing a half dozen more. That's the beauty of founding a country on the basis of religious freedoms.
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2tots
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SJC
Nov 22 2006, 01:44 PM
It's not just the atheists. There are plenty of religious people out there that don't believe in God: Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Shintoists, Sikhs, Confucians, etc. I'm probably missing a half dozen more. That's the beauty of founding a country on the basis of religious freedoms.

Took the words right outta my mouth.
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SJC
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God bless those pagans -- Homer Simpson
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