Despite the principal's statement that the children did not have to take a Bible, by allowing the Gideons to set up immediately outside the principal’s office, the School Board "created the impression in young, impressionable minds that 'the school endorsed a particular belief: Christianity.'" ... Therefore, this Court determines that the distribution of Bibles was ultimately coercive...; that distribution of Bibles is a religious activity without a secular purpose... and that distribution by the Gideons amounted to promotion of Christianity by the School Board....The Advocate yesterday reported on the court's decision. (See prior related posting.)
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Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Court Says Gideon Bible Distribution To 5th Graders Violated Establishment Clause
In Roe v. Tangipahoa Parish School Board, (ED LA, April 22, 2008), a Louisiana federal district court held that the distribution of Gideon Bibles to 5th grade students at a Louisiana public school violated the Establishment Clause. The court said: