Survey On Religion and Sports Shows 73% Favor Coaches Leading Players In Christian Prayer

The Public Religion Research Institute last week released its fourth annual survey of sports and religion.  The survey (full data) concluded that 48% of those surveyed think that playing fantasy online sports is gambling, while 63% think that gambling is morally acceptable.  Another question asked whether or not respondents agree that football coaches at public high schools should be allowed to lead their players in Christian prayer during games.  44% said they completely agree that this should be allowed, while 29% said they mostly agree; 14% completely disagree and 10% mostly disagree.

Texas Supreme Court: Cheerleaders' Battle With School District Not Moot

In Matthews v. Kountze Independent School District, (TX Sup. Ct., Jan. 29. 2016), the Texas Supreme Court, without hearing or oral argument, held that a dispute between football cheerleaders and a local school system over run-through banners carrying religious messages is not moot.  Originally the school banned the religious verses, but after a trial court issued a temporary injunction allowing the cheerleaders to continue using the banners, the school reversed its ban and the court of appeals agreed with the school that this eliminated any live controversy. (See prior posting.) The Supreme Court reversed, saying in part:

the District’s voluntary abandonment here provides no assurance that the District will not prohibit the cheerleaders from displaying banners with religious signs or messages at school-sponsored events in the future.

Justice Willett filed a concurring opinion, invoking analogies from the movie The Lion King. Justice Guzman filed a concurring opinion emphasizing that school officials need guidance on the extent to which limits on religious speech are permissible. AP reports on the decision. [Thanks to Steven Jamar via Religionlaw for the lead.]

Suit Challenges High School History Unit On Islam

The parents of a high schooler filed suit in a Maryland federal district court this week alleging that a two-week unit on Islam in the La Plata High School 11th grade World History class unconstitutionally promoted Islam over Christianity and Judaism.  The complaint (full text) in Wood v. Charles County Public Schools, (D MD, filed 1/27/2016), contends that plaintiffs' daughter was removed from class and given failing grades on assignments when she refused to complete work sheets on Islam that would have caused her to deny and insult her Christian beliefs. The suit contends that this violated the 1st and 14th Amendments, federal civil rights laws and state constitutional provisions.  Thomas More Law Center issued a press release on the case.

UK's Department of Education Clarifies Religious Education Requirements

Britain's Department of Education yesterday issued a Guidance Note (full text) assuring schools that their Religious Education curriculum does not need to change in response to a court decision (see prior posting) last month holding that schools cannot completely exclude the study of non-religious beliefs. According to the Department, the decision does not mean that equal time must be given to teachings of humanism. Schools can continue to give precedence to the teachings of major faith groups, and the curriculum of non-religiously affiliated schools must "reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are, in the main, Christian whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain."

Suit Challenges Religious Impact on Public School's Curriculum

A lawsuit brought in a Florida state court last month on behalf of a 5th grader by the student's father attacks the way in which a Florida school district teaches about religion and the way in which it allows religion to impact its secular curriculum, including teaching about evolution. The complaint (full text) in Silver v. School Board of Palm Beach County, Florida, (FL Cir. Ct., filed 11/24/2015), contends that textbooks "provide false, misleading, and dangerous information about certain religions, and purposely omit factual information if it appears unfavorable to them and/or politically incorrect.... "  It goes on to allege that "the danger of fundamentalist religion is often obscured and downplayed due to the failure of Defendant School Board to properly monitor its textbooks, and the efforts of fundamentalist religious believers to impose their un-scientific, irrational beliefs such as creationism, which masquerades as science upon the children of this state and county." The lawsuit also contends that the curriculum inaccurately portrays Islam as a peaceful religion, and that schools teach "terrible lies about Jews as if they were historical fact." WPFB reported on the lawsuit in a Dec. 16 posting.

The complaint contends that the school district's practices violate various statutory and state constitutional provisions on education, as well as the 1st Amendment's free exercise and establishment clauses. [Thanks to Scott Mange and Ed Brayton for information on the case.]

Calligraphy Assignment Involving Shahada Leads To Early Winter Break For Virginia Students

As reported by CNN, on Thursday afternoon Augusta County, Virginia school officials shut down all the schools a day early for winter break after information about a World Religion assignment handed out a week earlier received broad coverage and triggered threats to the school system.  At issue was an assignment in a high school world geography course-- taken from a standard workbook, World Religions, first published in 1995-- that was designed to acquaint students with Arabic calligraphy. The workbook assignment said:

Since Islam forbids idolatry, mosques are decorated with calligraphy rather than human or animal figures.... Here is the shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, written in Arabic.  In the space below, try copying it by hand.  This should give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy.

On Tuesday, the Augusta County School superintendent issued a press release explaining the assignment after some parents expressed concern to him.  As reported by Al Jazeera, high school parent Kimberly Herndon, one of the main objectors, posted a call on her Facebook page for the teacher involved to be fired because "she had [students] write an abomination to their faith and causes a little girl to cry herself to sleep because she was worried she had denounced her God."  Herndon accused the teacher of attempting to indoctrinate students "into a religion of hate."  In a press release on Thursday, the school superintendent announced:

Following parental objections to the World Geography curriculum and ensuing related media coverage, the school division began receiving voluminous phone calls and electronic mail locally and from outside the area. As a result of those communications, the Sheriff’s Office and the school division coordinated to increase police presence at Augusta County schools and to monitor those communications. The communications have significantly increased in volume today and based on concerns regarding the tone and content of those communications, Sheriff Fisher and Dr. Bond mutually decided schools and school offices will be closed on Friday, December 18, 2015.

This was followed up by an additional press release yesterday. Perhaps ironically, the early closure of schools apparently resulted in the cancellation of a number of Christmas programs, including choir and band concerts, scheduled for yesterday which students had been preparing for some time.

Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Against School Show's Live Nativity Depiction

In Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Concord Community Schools, (ND IN, Dec. 2, 2015), an Indiana federal district court granted a preliminary injunction barring an Indiana school district from presenting its traditional live nativity scene as part of this year's school Christmas Spectacular show. The court said in part:

a reasonable observer would fairly believe that the portrayal of the living nativity scene, when viewed in the particular context, circumstances, and history of the Christmas Spectacular, conveys a message of endorsement of religion, or that a particular religious belief is favored or preferred.

The court held that the school's insertion, in response to the filing of this lawsuit, of short segments on Hanukkah and Kwanzaa did not cure the Establishment Clause problem:

the way in which Chanukah and Kwanzaa are being presented in the show in comparison to the Christmas portion in general and the nativity scene in particular actually serves to place greater emphasis on and suggest greater preference of the religious message conveyed by the nativity scene.

In its press release on the decision, FFRF says it continues to prepare for trial on the merits since the preliminary injunction applies only to this year's show.

UPDATE:  The Dec. 12 Goshen News reports that the school stayed in technical compliance with the preliminary injunction by featuring a static nativity scene using mannequins, in place of the enjoined live performance.

Nativity Pageant Challengers May Sue Anonymously

In an order (full text) issued Monday, an Indiana federal magistrate judge allowed two individual plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging an Indiana high school's Nativity Pageant to proceed anonymously. (See prior related posting.) Plaintiffs asked for the order "because one Doe Plaintiff is a minor, because of the history of violence and intimidation against plaintiffs in other Establishment Clause cases similar to this one, and because there is a reasonable expectation that the Doe Plaintiffs here will be the victims of harassment, injury, and other serious harm if their identities are made public."  Defendants did not object to the order.  The Elkhart Truth reports on the order.

Italian School Head Provokes Controversy By Canceling Christmas Concert In Favor of Winter Musical In January

With Italy's population becoming more religiously diverse, it is now facing the kind of issues regarding Christmas celebration in public schools that have been common in the United States.  Under attack from Italy's Prime Minister, the headmaster of a 1,000 pupil school in the town of Rozzano near Milan has been forced to resign after he canceled the school's traditional Christmas concert in favor of a non-religious Winter Concert in January.  AFP, The Telegraph and Deutsche Welle all reported yesterday on aspects of the story.  Before resigning, Marco Parma, headmaster of the Garofani comprehensive school whose student body is 20% non-Christian, said:

Last year we had a Christmas concert and some parents insisted on having carols. The Muslim children didn't sing, they just stood there, absolutely rigid.  It is not nice watching a child not singing or, worse, being called down from the stage by their parents.

The school's teachers backed the headmaster, but Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was incensed, saying:

Discussion and dialogue does not mean to say we can drown our identity for the sake of a vague and insipid form of political correctness. Italians, both non-religious and Christians, will never give up Christmas.

The head of Italy's anti-immigrant Northern League went further, arguing that "canceling traditions is a favor for terrorists."

British Court Says Religious Education Curriculum Must Include Non-Religious Beliefs

As reported by a British Humanist Association press release, a British High Court judge in London held yesterday that non-religious views, such as humanism, must be included in British schools' Religious Education studies.  In Fox v. Secretary of State for Education, (EWHC, Nov. 25, 2015), a judge held:

The Strasbourg jurisprudence shows that the duty of impartiality and neutrality owed by the state do not require equal air-time to be given to all shades of belief or conviction. An RE [Religious Education] syllabus can quite properly reflect the relative importance of different viewpoints within the relevant society. The same would seem to follow for a region or locality. The duty might therefore be described as one of “due” impartiality..... In addition, of course, a generous latitude must be allowed to the decision-maker as to how that works out in practical terms. But the complete exclusion of any study of nonreligious beliefs ... would not in my judgment be compatible with [the European Convention on Human Rights' provisions on the right to education].

Indiana High School Sued Over Upcoming Christmas Pageant

The ACLU and Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a federal lawsuit yesterday challenging as an Establishment Clause violation an Elkhart, Indiana public high school's annual "Christmas Spectacular."  The complaint (full text) in Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Concord Community Schools, (ND IN, filed 10/7/2015) alleges:

Each winter for the past several decades, the High School has staged a “Christmas Spectacular,” a series of performances taking place at the High School in which students perform various holiday songs and to which other students, family members, and members of the community are invited to attend. While the holiday songs chosen for the Christmas Spectacular vary somewhat each year, the Christmas Spectacular always closes with an approximately 20-minute live depiction—also by students of the High School—of the story of the birth of Jesus. This event is set to be staged again in early December of 2015....

The FFRF press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit includes a link to a video of last year's performance.

School Sued Over Refusal To Allow Religious Allusion On Donor's Plaque

A lawsuit was filed Wednesday against the Colorado School of Mines by an alumnus (a former member of the school's football team) because the school rejected an inscription he chose for his donor plaque.  The complaint (full text) in Lucas v. Johnson, (D CO, filed 9/30/2015), contends that as part of the school's fundraising campaign for a new Athletic Complex, donors could purchase a personalized nameplate to be placed in the new football locker room.  The donor could place a 3-line quote, along with certain other information, on his or her nameplate.  Alumnus Michael Lucas submitted only one line for his quote: "Colossians 3:23 & Micah 5:9."  The school rejected the quote because if one went to the text of the Colossians reference, it included mention of "the Lord." A school faculty member soliciting contributions told Lucas that his nameplate could not use a quote that contained the words God, Lord, or Jesus, but he could choose another Bible verse that did not contain those words.  Plaintiff contends this policy violates his 1st and 14th Amendment rights.  Alliance Defending Freedom issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Parties Dismiss Suit That Claimed Teacher Punished Student For Nonbelief

WANE News reports that yesterday an Indiana federal district court dismissed, upon agreement of the parties, a suit that was filed in June claiming that a Fort Wayne (IN) elementary school teacher punished a second grade student who allegedly upset classmates by telling them that he did not go to church or believe in God. (See prior posting.)  The case is A.B. v. Meyer, (ND IN). An internal school investigation found that teacher Michelle Meyer acted appropriately and that the complaint in the lawsuit did not accurately reflect what had happened.  The teacher said her concern was that the student did not care about the impact of his words on a fellow student.

Ten Commandments Monument At School Unconstitutional, But Claim For Injunction Is Moot

In Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Connellsville Area School District, (WD PA, Aut. 28. 2015), a Pennsylvania federal district court held that a granite Ten Commandments monument that has stood outside a Pennsylvania junior high school since 1957 violates the Establishment Clause even though the monument, donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, is nearly identical to the one upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Van Orden case.  However, the court said:

there are at least two factors that distinguish this case from Van Orden, such that it does not control the outcome. First, the monument in Van Orden was displayed “in a large park containing 17 monuments and 21 historical markers.”... Conversely, the monument in this case stands alone, prominently displayed outside one of the entrances to the school with a sidewalk just 14 feet away... There has been no effort on the part of the School District to impart “a broader moral and historical message” by displaying the monument alongside or nearby other secular monuments or displays.... Not only does the monument stand alone, but it stands alone “on the grounds of a public school, where,” as Justice Breyer explained, “given the impressionability of the young, government must exercise particular care in separating church and state.”... 

Nevertheless, the relief granted by the court was rather narrow.  Since the plaintiff no longer attends the Junior High School, her claims for injunctive and declaratory relief were denied as moot. Instead the court only granted nominal damages of $1, thus placing the school under no immediate direct order to remove the monument. Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports on the decision.

Canadian Court Says Charter Does Not Protect Proselytizing In Primary School During School Hours

In Bonitto v. Halifax Regional School Board, (NS Ct. App., Aug. 26, 2015), the Nova Scotia (Canada) Court of Appeal rejected the claim by Sean Bonitto, a fundamentalist Christian parent of school children, that Secs. 2(a) and (b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect his right to hand out religious literature during school hours to elementary school students.  He sought to distribute his literature in a school in which 25% of the students were Muslim.  The court said in part:

Mr. Bonitto’s model envisages a theological midway with rivals beckoning nine year olds walking to their classrooms. The Minister, Board and school would have no control over the messages. That would contradict a basic premise of public schooling under the Education Act – i.e. on school premises during school hours, the inculcated message must pertain to the approved scholastic program.

Mr. Bonitto’s message is that non-Christians will burn in a sea of flames for eternity. The Board’s witnesses held the view that elementary students, especially non-Christians, hearing this on the steps would entertain an unsettling distraction from their classwork. The message would undermine the “orderly and safe learning environment” and the “positive and inclusive school climate” proclaimed by the preamble to the Education Act. That view makes good sense to me.

CBC News reports on the decision.

School District Drops Band's Planned Half-Time Show Fearing It Violates Consent Decree

Having been held in contempt last month for violating a 2013 consent decree  in which it was ordered to comply with a newly adopted policy on Religion in Public Schools (see prior posting), the Rankin County, Mississippi School Board last week told the Brandon High School band that it could not perform its planned half-time show at the season's opening football game.  According to yesterday's Christian News, the band had planned to perform "How Great Thou Art" during half-time. While the song was selected last February with administrative support, the school district more recently said it would risk heavy fines if it were performed and would be required to terminate the employment of anyone connected with the performance.  At last Friday's game, while the band did not perform, dozens of parents and students began singing the song from the stands.

Iowa State School Board Will Consider Challenge To Religious Choral Music In High Schools

At its meeting tomorrow, the Iowa Board of Education will consider the recommendation of an administrative law judge rejecting a family's challenge to the religious nature of music performed by the high school choirs in the New Hampton Community School District.  According to yesterday's Des Moines Register, the parents particularly pointed to the choirs' closing with the hymn In This Very Room which they perform holding hands and encircling the audience. The choirs also conduct a "Church Tour," performing in various churches in the community.  The school board says that a large percentage of choral music that has been written is religious, so it would be difficult to limit choirs to secular pieces. It said the church tours allowed students to experience different acoustics and blending of sounds, and that students did not attend religious services while performing.  The state school board's decision can be appealed to the courts.

Consent Decree Bars Religious Activities By Colorado School District

Denver 7 News reports that a consent decree (full text) was filed this week in Basevitz v. Fremont RE-2 School District, (D CO, July 28, 2015).  The lawsuit, filed in May by a high school teacher in the district, claimed that Florence, Colorado High School extensively promotes evangelical Christian activities through arrangements with a church, The Cowboy Church at Crossroads. (See prior posting.)  Under the settlement, school district employees may not in their official capacities engage in religious activities with students; and the district will ban all school-sponsored prayers or other religious expression before school-related captive audiences. Also the school district will ban school sponsorship of religious groups and religious activities, distribution of religious literature by district employees, and school-sponsored prayer request boxes.

Mississippi School District Held In Contempt Of Decree On Religion In Schools

In M.B. v. Rankin County School District, (SD MS, July 10, 2015), a Mississippi federal district court held that the Rankin County, Mississippi, School District has willfully violated a 2013 consent decree in which it was ordered to comply with a newly adopted policy on Religion in Public Schools. (See prior posting.) The consent decree was entered in response to complaints about school assemblies that promoted Christianity. The current finding of a violation of the decree was triggered by a district-wide awards ceremony honoring students who did well on their ACT test at which a Christian minister offered a sectarian prayer as part of the ceremonies. The school in another violation assisted the Gideons in distributing Bibles to elementary school students. Finding the district in contempt, the court ordered it to pay $7500 in damages to the student filing the contempt petition, and ordered a fine of $10,000 per infraction for any future violations. American Humanist Association issued a press release announcing the decision and linking to its Memorandum of Law that was filed in support of plaintiff's motion for civil contempt.

2nd Grade Teacher Sued For Intimidating Student Who Said He Did Not Believe In God

Yesterday's Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette reported on a federal lawsuit filed last week by the Indiana ACLU on behalf of a 2nd grade student and his mother against the boy's teacher at Fort Wayne's Forest Park Elementary School.  According to the complaint, after the boy, identified only as A.B., had a playground discussion with a classmate whom he told he did not go to church or believe in God, the classmate complained to the teacher, Michelle Meyer. The teacher told A.B. she was very concerned about what he had done, and for three days required him to sit by himself at lunch and not talk to other students because he had offended them.  A.B. is now anxious and fearful about school, believing many teachers and students hate him, even though teachers subsequently told him he could believe what he wants.

The lawsuit only names the teacher personally as defendant, and not the school district.  According to WTHR News, the district released a statement saying that "It is clear that it is not the province of a public school to advance or inhibit religious beliefs or practices...."