"Just Read, Florida" Program Stirs Church-State Objections

Agape Press yesterday reported on the controversy that has arisen around Florida Governor Jeb Bush's "Just Read, Florida" program. To encourage reading, the state is implementing grade level specific contests around the book The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Students are being asked to read the book in conjunction with the December release of a Disney movie based on it, and to write an essay, create an art project or make a short video about the book or characters in it. Americans United for Separation of Church and State claims that the contest violates the First Amendment because it promotes a "religious story". The director of the program, Mary Laura Openshaw, says that the story can be read without references to Christianity, and that children can "read the book and decide for themselves" about any correlation with the story of Jesus Christ. Now the Alliance Defense Fund has offered free legal representation for any school sued by Americans United.