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Federal Judges Orders Prayer, Religion Out Of Schools
May 9, 2009
A federal judge has upheld an order that keeps prayer and educator led religious activities out of the Santa Rosa County Schools. The order even dictates that school employees are not allowed to pray at school events.
U.S. District Court Judge Casey Rodgers signed the federal order Friday requiring school officials in Santa Rosa County to stop promoting their personal religious beliefs in public schools.
The order prohibits, among other things, any prayer in schools, “reading from a sacred text”, “calling upon a deity to offer guidance, assistance or a blessing” and religious services such as baccalaureate services. There are circumstances were student-led prayers are permissible, but school employees are prohibited to participate in the prayer, even prohibited from “a posture or manner that is likely to be perceived as an endorsement of prayer, e.g. bowing their heads, kneeling or folding their hands”.
The consent decree is the result of a lawsuit filed last year by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida on behalf of two Pace High School students who alleged that school officials regularly promoted religion and led prayers at school events. Among other things, it prohibits school officials from promoting or endorsing prayers during school functions and organizing school-sponsored religious services. The two families were awarded $1 each by the judge.
“Religious freedom is best promoted when the government stays out of religion. Now, students and their families can feel comfortable holding and expressing their own religious beliefs, knowing that school officials will no longer impose their particular religious beliefs on students at school,” said Benjamin Stevenson, an ACLU of Florida staff attorney based in Pensacola who led the case.
The ACLU lawsuit was filed in August 2008 and charged school officials with committing widespread violations of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. After months of litigation and discovery, the school board, the superintendant and the principal filed an “Admission of Liability” with the court, owning up to the district-wide constitutional violations.
Following the school board’s admission, ACLU attorneys worked closely with district officials to develop an accord that would bring the school district into compliance.
Judge Rodgers’ order states:
- School officials’ promotion of their personal religious beliefs in school and at school functions violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and the “no aid” provision of the Florida Constitution;
- School officials are permanently prohibited from promoting, advancing, endorsing, participating in or causing prayers during or in conjunction with school events;
- School officials are permanently prohibited from planning, organizing, financing, promoting or sponsoring religious services, including baccalaureate services;
- School officials are permanently prohibited from holding school events at a religious venue when an alternative secular venue is reasonably suitable;
- School officials are permanently prohibited from promoting their personal religious beliefs to students in class or during a school event;
- The district shall pay damages to both plaintiffs in the amount of $1.00; and
- School officials shall comply with the Federal Equal Access Act.
The order also requires that school officials distribute it to all district employees.
Comments
23 Responses to “Federal Judges Orders Prayer, Religion Out Of Schools”
Yes EMD
You did overlook something. The May 9th posting “JB the donkey update”. That is when you used the name “dissenter”.
That is when I started really paying attention to the words that you spoke on all your comments, and while reading all those comments, realized what you meant.
People “tolerate” a lot.
You said that the meaning of the word dissenter just means to differ in opinion. Some people may really think that is your true perception of the word dissenter, but me, after seeing all your scripture quoting, know in my heart what you meant. And so do you.
Not your understanding of the word?
dis·sent·er (d-sntr)
n.
1. One who dissents: political dissenters.
2. often Dissenter One who refuses to accept the doctrines or usages of an established or a national church, especially a Protestant who dissents from the Church of England.
Dissenter
Noun
Christianity chiefly Brit a Protestant who refuses to conform to the established church
The term dissenter (from the Latin dissentire, “to disagree”), labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. in the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body in England or Wales who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.
English Dissenters were English Christians who separated from the Church of England.
Get Real. Not all are stupid. We do know how to “Google”.
My 2 Cents,
You said: “To me, when you believe in GOD, you do not change his name to G-D, just because someone else has a different belief. ”
I say:
But you were not the one doing it. I was. Because, it was my comment, and that is what I wanted to do. I did not do it to harm you or anyone else. I did it out of respect for one of the blood line of Abraham. The Jews have one word for God that they consider too Holy to be spoken. The G-d I learned from a wonderful Jewish website and a Christian missionary with whom I began to correspond while rockets were being fired in the area in which she lived. She does that too( writes “G-d” ). I suppose it is an off shoot of the other tradition. I wanted this person to know that I do respect their faith, for it is the one which brought us Jesus.
You said,
“ ‘Dissenter” as you so elegantly put it, means that you stepped away from GOD.’ ”
I say:
That is not my understanding of that word. To me, it means to differ in opinion.
You said:
“I respect that someone is Jewish, Amish, Christian, Athiest, etc.
But I will not change the name of GOD to G-D for anyone. And that is not disrespect.”
I say:
I didn’t say that it was, nor do I know enough about it to know whether it is or not. God does not become less than who He is because I dropped the o from that three letter word for Him.
You quoted(?), “Remember, “I am a jealous GOD” “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
I know The Word says that “He will not be held guiltless, who takes the name of The Lord in vain. I have learned that taking His name in vain means that if we take His name, calling ourselves Christian, and do not become Christ-like, we have taken His name in vain.
EMD
To me, when you believe in GOD, you do not change his name to G-D, just because someone else has a different belief.
“Dissenter” as you so elegantly put it, means that you stepped away from GOD.
I respect that someone is Jewish, Amish, Christian, Athiest, etc.
But I will not change the name of GOD to G-D for anyone. And that is not disrespect.
Remember, “I am a jealous GOD” “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
TO THE “THINKER”
You must understand the meaning of truth as it applies to the salvation of man.
Contrary to modern belief, truth is not relivent to each cituation, event, or personage. Gods’ truth is eternal. It is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
It is an “exact science”, if you will, that never changes. Therefore, There is only
one truth, Jesus Christ. If that seems arrogant to you then so be it.
I sincerely hope and pray the HOLY SPIRIT will touch your heart and reveal to you
the things you need to know to seek forgiveness and find your own salvation
“A Daddy,”
First, He comes “suddenly” to His Temple.
“My 2 cents,”
The “G-d ” was used after the poster revealed that he was Jewish. That is a way they show respect for the Name God. I did it out of respect for him, when he was the one I was addressing.
In any group of people, there are different ways of hearing. But , God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. And He and those that love Him are angry at the lies of the enemy, not those created in God’s image.
Mark 4:24
No one is saying that you can’t have God in your life, or pray, they are saying you can’t do it at school or school functions.
And, well spoken, caring christians that are posting on this and “other popular stories” think that they have the right to DOWN other people and the way that they think. They call them “dissenters”.
Then they post on this story, all about GOD, then when speaking to a certain person it all of a sudden becomes G-D. What is up with that???????
All the posts by the “believer’s” sound more angry and “judgemental” than any of the others.
Reading the bible, prayer and singing songs of faith occured daily in public school when I was a young student. These were all evidences of trust and obedience to the one and only true God. He is a jealous God! And we have allowed a minority of atheists and non-believers to take away our expression of faith and our practices of faith!!! I stand firm in my previous post! America has kicked God out of schools and we are and will continue to reap the fruits of these decisions! I love people of many faiths and believe that we can be more inclusive rather than less! Children who beleive in nothing will for for anything! Wake up and look around-read-watch-listen! Our once Godly nation-not perfect nation is in decline-immorality and faithlessness are just part of the equation! Yes, Jesus, my Lord and my Saviour I do Love you, please come quickly!
ATTENTION a daddy. God cannot be kicked out of anywhere! The laws were changed to make sure our kids were not subjected to all the weird crap they would have to put up with in the name of religion…….more later
“Please Explain,”
It is a pleasure to be respectful to you, and I thank you for speaking your heart. I cannot scorn you for not agreeing with me. I used to disagree with myself. Then, I learned that I could not put G-d in a box. No one can do so and learn of Him. One has to be able to step out of their comfort zone to learn Truth. And, one must expect oppossition when they do, even from those they love the most. I pray
G-d’s Best for you. I hope you will meet more Christians who will treat you respectfully…even when they disagree. I thank you for your common sense and respect.
This country was founded on the word of GOD. When they take prayer out of the schools, I believe it hastens the return of our Lord Jesus Christ for his own. Things are getting so bad that children of GOD prays “Come quickly Lord Jesus.”May God have mercy on the aclu, whoever is involved. GOD is still GOD and always will be, He doesn”t change.
EMD- Thank you. Your words are written with such intensity and a level of compelling compassion, that is hard to overlook or ignore. You have shown a depth of understanding that most can only hope to someday achieve. I wish others in the community could learn from you. I believe you do know how I feel, and I believe you do care about your fellow man. I can say I respectfully disagree with you, but I have the utmost respect for you and your religious position. We can still disagree, and that is ok, but I feel validated all the same. Thank you.
Well, I think a little scare wouldn’t hurt. Nowadays in schoo,l kids are doped up and packin’ heat. They haven’t a clue how to say yes ma’am, please, thank you, etc, etc. And even though I don’t attend church I’m not going to look down on those that believe. And all this decision means is now prejudice is okay against religious people. If it was fair you would be so strict on doing away with the bad in life as you are in getting rid of the good influences.
Hi, “Free Thinker.” I am a free thinker to. Growing up, I knew that if The Bible were true, there had to be more to Christianity than what I was seeing/hearing/experiencing. Then, I found myself, for three years, at school, living in the midst of folks of many different religions. Most acted more like how Christians are told to act than the Christians that told me. One day, after living in two other countries, and studying every belief I could find, I told God that I had only wanted to know what He wanted me to believe and do and had tried so hard to find out. That I did not want to believe a thing just because I was born in the USA and taught( sort of) Christianity. I was angry that all my searching had led to another dead end. I told Him that I would lay down on the floor and not move until He answered me even if I died of thirst and starvation. And, I meant it, with all of my heart, soul and mind. And then, I layed down on the floor. That was the day that He answered me, and I knew that I knew that I knew that Jesus Christ was God, come in the flesh. I asked Him to take me to square one and learn of Him, from Him, through The Holy Spirit. I can say that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ died for YOU, Free Thinker, and for me (the wordy one). And no one can ever take that from me. I wish everyone believed and followed Him, including all of the Christians in the world. We would have Heaven here……now. I can give no one that revelation. It has to come from Him. That knowledge revolutionized my life. Yes, I have fallen a few times, and have been cast down, but I am not destroyed, and I am changed and changing. I desire no less for anyone.
I call myself “Thinker” because I have allowed myself to think freely despite being surrounded while growing up by arrogant and self-righteous Christian zealots who insist theirs is the only spiritual path. Well I can’t blame them, for they have been frightened into such beliefs while just children.
But children listen to me: Stand up and celebrate the decision of the ACLU and these United States. Try to understand that the “spiritual” needs of human minds expresses itself in many ways. To believe that yours is the ONLY true religion is to deny the deepest parts of others and therefore to be anti-social on this planet and to polarize yourself and your group in ways that lead to wars and killings. In hind sight, such atrocities and violent behaviors are meaningless. We non-Christians are deeply insulted by your arrogance. Praying in schools isn’t going to solve anything. You are free to pray in your churches and homes, and while doing so may pray for schools or anything you want. Don’t tell me your God can’t hear your from there.
But I hope your children will free themselves to think critically of their imposed beliefs, as I and others have. It’s not often an easy task. We, not devout Christians, are the “children of the future” of this species called Homo sapiens. As you believe there is only one God, so we SEE that there is only one humanity and it is threatened by your self-imposed ignorance. Grow up.
My wife told me she read it somewhere that as long as they have tests in school, they will have prayer in schools.
First, I need to say that I made a compositional MESS of my first post. I do not know if I am malfunctioning, or if my laptop is. We both have messed up in the past. I really thought I re-read, and edited what I posted. Somewhere between completion and submitting a real accident happened. I am so sorry. It makes me cringe to try and read that mess. I thought just the first paragraph was messed up. Looks like further damage occurred some where.
To “Please Explain:” Thank you for your kind and decent reply. Would it surprise you to learn that I can actually identify with your feelings? I can understand where you are coming from here. If I were in your shoes, I am sure I would feel the same way. There is probably more than one reason that you are not allowed to lead the prayer or be treated equal when it comes to Christian belief. However, there is only one good reason (in my humble opinion). That is that…………….a true Christian believes that Jesus Christ is the only One sent by the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and is The Only way to G-d. We can not stand before Him in our own righteousness, for it is as filthy rags (menstrual clothes). But we can only stand in the Righteousness of The One who knew no sin. That One is Jesus Christ, The Only Begotten Son of G-d. In your case you do not believe that Jesus Christ is your Messiah. We believe that He is your Messiah and ours. Many, if not most, Christians do not really study The Word of G-d for themselves. They listen to what others say it says. I did that in the past too. Those who are learning for themselves through The Holy Spirit, know, or will know, that the eyes of the Jews, as a people, have been blinded to the truth of the gospel, just as The Word teaches. This is so that the gentiles could be grafted into The Vine (Christ). This was done to make the Jews jealous, in hopes they would “see,” the truth. Some have. One day all will. In your Holy Book there is prophecy after prophecy about your Messiah. Jesus has fulfilled these prophesies. Your own Book says that you shall one day “see” Him. That you will look upon The One pierced for our sins. And, that when you see Him, you will weep and mourn for Him as one does for an only son. Each family will see Him apart. You look for One to set up an earthly kingdom. We look for one to set up a heavenly kingdom, which will then be revealed in the earth. One which operates by divine Love, not by rules. No human keeps all the rules. Even if one tried, there are too many to remember. True Love does what is right and doesn’t need rules. The Law was given to show man what sin is, and that he cannot keep The Law. It is a school master to bring us to a knowledge of The Truth. The Word teaches us that there is only ONE mediator between G-d and man, and that is Jesus Christ. I think you call Him “Yeshua.”
I hope that helps you understand why. Now, if anyone is disrespectful or rude in refusing to let you lead in prayer, they are very wrong and way out of line, for Jesus was born of G-d and of the flesh of the Jews. More than half of our Bible came from the Jews. I love you, and so should every believer in Jesus Christ. And we are instructed to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
I know I am very wordy much of the time, but I just want to hear folks speak the truth from their own heart and not just parrot some teacher (unless that Teacher is The Holy Spirit). I’ve gotten started and just can’t shut up about this right now. I believe it needs to be said. I wish that every one that names The Name of Christ would fight to pray in their homes and with their children and in their prayer closets, as much as they do in the political and public arena. I am not saying that we should not speak out in the public arena, for we should, but if we do that and not the other……………………..NOTHING different will keep on happening. Just the same o same o, over and over again. I, for one, am weary of it.
If I were in your shoes, I think I would check what’s been said here for myself, and ask G-d if it is so. Then, I would talk the problem of the public prayer issue over with G-d, and let Him handle the situation, and those involved in it. I hope this helped. Thank you for showing respect, even though you feel you were not shown any. Would it be disrespectful to say, “That was the Christian thing to do?
I proof read this. If it comes out garbled, I did not do it.
You have to love the bible belt! God this, Jesus that, lets all worship him?
Where is the tolerance for other faiths?
I agree with the wording EMD used “were forbidden to force” this makes much more sense and allows our rights to be unencumbered. As best I can tell, EMD is an intelligent person. Always posting well thought out responses. I enjoy reading your posts although I differ on religious belief. This next part is in general not to any one person. I grow tired of reading so much about Christ and “Praise him” Etc. I am not a Christian. This does not make me a bad person, just different than most of the folks around here. I tolerate many things, the biggest being the practice of religion in public. I do not prevent or stop anyone from practicing their respective faiths, and I only ask the same from the community. It seems I am not given that same courtesy. At the ball park (Bradberry Park) prior to each game the teams usually have a team prayer. The prayers I have observed have always been Christian. Like I said I tolerate this and am respectful of others faith. When the coach calls my child over with the team to pray, I allow it to try and fit in here. What do you thing happened when I asked if I, or my child, could lead my Childs team in prayer? I was not so kindly told “no thank you!” is this religious tolerance? I think if prayer is permitted in public, such as a school, or in this case the public/community ball park, then all faiths should be given the same opportunity to pray. My experience in this small religious intolerant community has been horrible, it is that reason I support the ACLU and this Federal Judge on this decision. If everyone is going to be given the same opportunities, then that changes things. I have not seen any religious tolerance here. Being Jewish does not make us bad, just slightly different. Am I to assume “love thy neighbor as thyself” Matthew 5:43 only applies if your neighbor is Christian?
I am sorry about the garbled last part of my first paragraph in my primary entry. What is was suppose to say was: “The freedom that only obedience to Him can give. One has to experience this to understand it. To forbid anyone to speak to their Life Source, in any setting is despicable. Satan has, indeed, come down in rage. He knows his time is short.”
I was interrupted, and posted my comments before I read your comments, “Daddy.” God bless you for standing. I know He did, as you wrote it, and He will again.
I also would like to quit hearing, “God bless America,” for a while. for He HAS abundantly blessed America. I want to hear and see, “America! Bless God.”
It would make much more sense if educators were forbidden to “force” any students to believe or bow or pray, or to discipline them for refusing. But, to forbid them from praying with or speaking to students who have no objection, makes no sense to me. THAT!!! is interfering with religious freedom. And, the majority of folks in this country claim to be Christian, though most do not act much different from the rest of the world. What is needed is for true believers in, and lovers and followers of, Christ to come out from among the religious, and simply do what Christ asked us to, and not do what would be unlike what He would do. I wish there were NO religions. Religions are about bondage to rules. Jesus is about freedom to obey in love. The freedom that only obedience to Him can Life Sourcem in any setting, is despicable. Satan has, indeed, come down in rage. He knows his time is short.
Real believers………It is time for us to stand in the Liberty He bought for us with the blood of His suffering, death and resurrectiobring. One has to experience this for themselves to understand what this means. To forbid one from addressing their n. No one can stop us from believing, praying and speaking the Truth, unless He allows them. And if He allows them, let’s keep standing anyway. His suffering for us was total. After His ascension, He was seated at the right hand of God, but stood for one who stood for Him. That one was being stoned for standing for Him. One, who would soon be converted to The Truth held the coat of the one being stoned. Later the one who held the coat of the one he ordered stoned, was converted. He was forgiven much, and he loved much from then on. Then He laid down his life too. Jesus laid down His life for all, but was not too proud to stand for one. How can we be too proud to stand for Him?
When you kick God out of schools-be ready for the next disaster! God does not answer prayers that are not prayed! Our nation is headed for ruin because of groups like the ACLU! God Bless America! I still love you Lord Jesus and will never stop praying anywhere I want to! A day is coming when prayer will be outlawed anywhere in public and those like myself who choose to pray and seek God will be jailed or worse! It is written!
Attorney Benjamin Stevensons’ statement, “school officials will no longer impose
their particular religious beliefs on students at school,” is a relief to me as non-
christian (atheist) school officials can no longer degrade religous values held by
many students in the public school system.
Somehow, I have serious concerns that this will be the case.