Preface: Gideons International is an organization that has as its purpose the distribution of as many Christian Bibles as possible. For 100 years they have distributed Christian Bibles in various locales around the world, but are best known for the ubiquitous "Gideon Bible" one finds in hotels and motels.In Alabama: School officials in Athens, Alabama, in response to a threatened lawsuit, have forbidden the Gideons International organization from distributing Christian Bibles in the public schools. Previously, every year, the district held a "Bible distribution" for 5th graders.
In Michigan: The school superintendent in Wayland, Michigan, told Gideons International to halt its "annual" distribution of Christian Bibles to 5th graders. The Gideons have been giving away Christian Bibles in this school district since 1990.
In Tennessee: In Warren County, the Gideons International group distributes pocket-sized copies of the New Testament to 5th-graders at Dibrell Elementary School. The Gideons have been doing this for 20 years in Warren County. The district does not plan to change things, based on the notion that the kids don't have to take a copy of the New Testament if they do not want to; they can leave the room.
Now think about this: You're a fifth-grader. Your parents are Jewish, or Buddhists, or Hindi, or Wiccans, or Muslim. You do not want a copy of the Christian New Testament. If you ask to leave the room, you know your peers will laugh and tease you about being "different." Fifth-graders do not like to be teased and laughed at by their peers. You take the New Testament and grit your teeth.
The principal of Dibrell Elementary, Sherry Trotman, thinks that's just fine. I think Ms. Trotman should find another job where she doesn't have to work with young people.
In Louisiana: A federal judge ruled "that the Tangipahoa Parish School Board violated the First Amendment by allowing Gideons International to pass out pocket Bibles to Loranger fifth-graders during school hours last year."
According to Judge Carl Barbier, "the practice is unconstitutional under multiple legal standards in federal case law testing whether government and religion are too closely entangled."
Furthermore, "The distribution of Bibles was 'ultimately coercive' on an elementary school child, 'a religious activity without a secular purpose,' and 'amounted to promotion of Christianity by the School Board.'"
You think?
In Louisiana: A lawsuit has been filed against the Rapides Parish School Board in Alexandria, Louisiana alleging that a Muslim elementary school student "was forced to accept a Bible and participate in a 'Jesus game' in school and was told by classmates that she would 'burn in hell.'"
In this case, the principal called a fifth-grade class to his office on December 14, 2000, where he handed out Christian Bibles and wished each of them "Merry Christmas."
The Muslim student, said "No, thank you" to the principal when he presented her the Christian Bible. The principal told her to "just take it" and because she felt pressured by the principal, she accepted the Bible.
In West Virginia: At some time in the past a court ruled that West Virginia's practice of putting religious and nonreligious material on a secondary school table where students could walk past it was not appropriate for grade-school children as "they might not understand that the school board was not endorsing any of the materials."
The above cases represent just a few of these kinds of incidents where right-wing Christian organizations attempt to impose their beliefs and materials upon impressionable school-age children in our PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
And isn't it interesting that in spite of the fact that in case after case, the courts have ruled that these kinds of activities violate the Constitution, and breach the wall of separation of church and state, pious right-wing Christians still insist on breaking the law?
I guess they believe that the "ends justify the means."
Or they agree with the ultra-right Christian dominionist and theocrat, Bill Bright, founder of the Campus Crusade for Christ, who said "God has been sending plagues on the American Nation because of the Supreme Court decisions on school prayer and Bible readings."
Actually, he may be right. But the "plagues" whereof he speaks are himself, Gideons International, and all of the other right-wing poohbahs who think they are above the law and are actively trying to gain positions of power in our society the better to infect our society with their particular fundamentalist Christian views.
A pox on all their houses!
2 comments:
One would think that God could touch the hearts and minds of all people if He wanted to. He created the world in six days, how long would it take to whisper in all ears any desire He wanted us all to hear. Either we have a law or we don’t. Isn’t it time to impress upon these people that we have a system of separation of church, synagogue, mosque, ashram, etc that has worked well in our pluralistic nation? All religions, even those we think of as nutty, have been able to live within the law for hundreds of years. It must be pleasing to the entire spectrum of gods, as we have not been destroyed, except for Katrina and that was somewhat limited in scope when compared to Biblical stories. (Bush speaks to God, so maybe God wanted it to happen)
I am convinced that if and when God wants to change something, anything, His will shall be done. Some of these people should take a hard look at those parts of the world where religious leaders control their nations. They also think they know what their God wants. Do we need a Taliban here? I do not think so.
Bob Poris
These hypothetical scenarios are just silly. People can receive copies of the Koran or the Book of Mormon and not be offended. They can say "no thank you" without being criticized. And they can be offered a copy of the Bible without feeling that its cover is coated with some carthogenic poison that will give them cancer. Better yet, they may open it and read to learn that it isn't as threatening as others have suggested. Minds are opened and expanded by reading quality literature. However, to many people want to have their own form of book burning, as long as the book destroyed is the Bible. And they excuse it in the name of inclusion. Ironic isn't it?
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