It seems that the Lake Local School district is being challenged by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Lake Local Schools, a public school system just south of my old stomping grounds, has this sentence in their "mission statement"……….
We Value: Responsibility, honesty, respect, integrity, commitment, belief in God and religious freedom, our community, our partnerships, and every person as a unique individual with the ability to acquire and apply knowledge.
Here's what the Freedom From Religion Foundation thought of that sentence….
Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freedom From Religion Foundation co-president, called the statement “shocking” and “one of the most egregious” violations she has seen of the Constitution’s language separating church and state.
Ohio.com picked up the AP story and has a lively comment section going.
If you recall, I wrote a couple days ago about the Texas Theo-cons and their Magic Book.
So now Ohio has it's own Theo-con outbreak over a non-religious group challenging a very obvious violation of the establishment clause of the first amendment in Lake Local School's official mission statement. Lake Local School officials framed the values they held, and those values include "belief in god." Those officials intend to educate all of the district's public school children with those "values" as the basis. Otherwise, why explain the values in the first place?
I can't tell you how long I've been opposing the crusades of the Theocons. Evangelical Christians, who make up a large portion of the American Theo-cons, insist that bringing god into public schools will make our children better, families more secure, communities all like Ward and June's in Leave It To Beaver.
The truth is that the divorce rates and pre-marital sex rates of all those evangelicals, who live only to serve their lord, are the same as the masses of American heathens. The reason these Theo-cons, whether trying to Christianize Lake Schools or over in Green where evangelical anti-abortionists drove out a legal abortion provider……the lesson is the same…..Evangelical Christians have nothing to offer a modern world. Evangelical Christians only have myths and superstition to offer…..their message is powerless….their credibility fading…and so in desperation, they seek to co-opt the power of the government to help them bail out a sinking ship.
Others don't see it like I do. Like, for example, these two Canton Repository online commenters….
ddpleasant
People who point out that the first ammend restricts the expression of religioin by the govenment quote the first part 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.' The however neglect the second part 'or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.'
Lake Township Schools is not promoting any one religion, they are expressing a belief in freedom of religion. This is an act the is specifically protect by the second part. Lake Township Schools is not congress, and it did not make a law. When the courts have ruled that against this kind of speach, in my humble opinion, I feel they have over reached.
Is it willfull blindness, or what?
This is what the mission statement says….
We Value: Responsibility, honesty, respect, integrity, commitment, belief in God and religious freedom, our community, our partnerships, and every person as a unique individual with the ability to acquire and apply knowledge.
It's like the "belief in god" part doesn't exist.
GregRoth….
Lake Township Schools is not promoting any one religion, they are expressing a belief in freedom of religion. This is an act the is specifically protect by the second part. Lake Township Schools is not congress, and it did not make a law. When the courts have ruled that against this kind of speach, in my humble opinion, I feel they have over reached.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation is an organization of atheists and agnostics who desire to impose their will on others by using the legal system to force compliance to their BELIEFS. They call themselves free thinkers but discount anyone who disagrees with their philosophy. They are antagonistic to anyone of faith in a supreme being in any religion. They call themselves free thinkers and only acknowledge those who agree with them. They use their organization to demean anyone who is of faith that that does not include their faith in a natural world without a god of any kind. They have the ear of many on the left and support much of the causes of the left in this nation. There goal is to eradicate any form of religion in this nation and impose their faith in atheism.The Freedom from Religion Foundation tries to use its threats of lawsuits as a way of intimidating small government entities like school districts that are always strapped for funds. That is wrong. Federal and State governments have been taken to court over the use of 'God' in buildings. This group tried to stop President Obama from putting his hand on the Christian Bible the same reasons as they attack the schools. It did not work. If they had their way all expressions of religion would be eliminated. They do not understand that the First Amendment says 'freedom of religion' and not freedom from religion. The Founders never intended to eliminate religion but to allow Americans to practice freely their faith and religion as they wanted without government interference. It is that simple.
You see? It's as if the government being prohibited by the first amendment from establishing religion does not exist at all. The amendment clearly states "religion"…..not Christianity, not a Protestant denomination, not Islam, not Judaism……"religion." To assert in a public school mission statement that, "We value….belief in god", is the very essence of government establishing religion.
Here's the Freedom From Religion Foundation's…umm…mission statment….
"The nonprofit Freedom From Religion Foundation works to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism, and to promote the constitutional principle of separation between church and state.
Since 1978, the Foundation has acted on countless violations of the separation of state and church, and has taken and won many significant complaints and important lawsuits to end state/church entanglements and challenge the “faith-based initiative.”
Here's a couple of good videos, where Annie Laurie Gaylor from the Freedom From Religion Foundation states the facts to a theo-con.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Just south?
It never ceases to amaze me that a declaration meant to prevent a national church which would have hindered the rights of the citzens to engage in the(or not) religion of choice has been so twisted.
Your bigotry is clearly unconstitutional, Reverend. Fortunately, like the Lake school district, you are not an arm of the federal government.
I don't know if you knew this, larry, but local townships are obligated to obey the federal Constitution. Yeah…can you imagine?
If you knew someone was poisoning the water system, wouldn't you want to warn people?
That's what I do. Warn about the poison of religion. Religion not only poisons everything….it stunts people's intellectual growth.
average, my friend…..the establishment clause of the first amendment was not intended to prevent a national church from forming. It was meant to keep government totally out of the religion promoting business.
Once again…."Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,…" It doesn't say "establishment of the Christian religion." It doesn't say "establishment of one denomination of religion." It says "establishment of religion." It's all inclusive and anything attached to or flowing out of government must not promote or establish religion….period.
Obama's "faith-based initiatives" is as unconstitutional as the day is long.
Thanks for the info, Reverend, but I still have questions. Is the Lake school board considered part of "Congress"? And is the district's mission statement considered "law"?
Where in the story about Lake county schools did it say those words about God were put in by Theo-cons ? I didn't see any such reference. It only said the words had been in for many years. I think you made up the part about it being conservatives, Rev.
And isn't an "establishment of religion" meant to bar a state religion, which would eliminate religious freedom ? The Lake schools included their belief in "religious freedom" right in their mission statement.
This is just atheist rabblerousers trying to find something to get upset about, in order to impose THEIR beliefs (or rather, their non-beliefs). They see the word "God" and wet their panties. Who cares ?
The Lake School Board is obligated to obey the provisions laid out in the Constitution. Unless, of course, you're encouraging lawlessness…..and I know you wouldn't do that.
For example: What if the Lake School Board wrote a mission statement stating that the entire public school system would encourage it's students to value slavery,….you know, it's biblical and Jesus never ruled slavery out…. so it should be valued? Would that be okay? You can fill in the blank…..women's biblically dictated role means that women shouldn't vote, for example,…..
Or, how about a mission statement that reinforces the "value" of killing disobedient children? It's biblical. Genociding other "tribes"…..biblical. How about the "value" of multiple wives…like Father Abraham?
I have always found it constructive to re-write the passage in question to illustrate what we are talking about, Rev. With that in mind:
"We Value: Responsibility, honesty, respect, integrity, commitment, belief in Allah (pbuh) and religious freedom, our community, our partnerships, and every person as a unique individual with the ability to acquire and apply knowledge."
Christians, would this be okey-dokey with you? How about:
"We Value: Responsibility, honesty, respect, integrity, commitment, belief in Zeus and religious freedom, our community, our partnerships, and every person as a unique individual with the ability to acquire and apply knowledge."
Or:
"We Value: Responsibility, honesty, respect, integrity, commitment, disbelief in God and religious freedom, our community, our partnerships, and every person as a unique individual with the ability to acquire and apply knowledge."
Each of these is also unconstitutional in *exactly the same way* that the original mission statement is unconstitutional.
How about keeping it simple, and inclusive:
"We Value: Responsibility, honesty, respect, integrity, commitment, religious freedom, our community, our partnerships, and every person as a unique individual with the ability to acquire and apply knowledge."
I think that covers all the bases quite well, don't you?
Yes…and thanks.
You are kidding me right Rev? That simple sentence has you and people like you in an uproar? Here I have a simple solution, instead of bitching about symantics why not go to a local soup kitchen and help your fellow down trodden brother out (See how God's work really works. I am sure you will see many people the Democrat leasdership has put out of work being fed by food paid for by Christians and conservatives.). You'll see a lot of Christians there, but I promise they won't force their religion on you unless you ask to talk about it. However, I do know that most of them will offer a handshake, a thank you, a smile and a hot meal for your efforts. To be talking about this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard on my entire life.
One step closer to the 10 planks of the communist manifesto.
Would this be a good mission/promise statement: We believe in the right to hide things from your parents. If you get pregnant you can kill your unborn child and we will not only take you but find someone to pay for it. Now we believe in your privacy so we will not search your lockers for drugs or paraphenalia? However, we will strip search and perform body cavity searches if you take and aspirin from a friend. Etc etc
I think some just have to much time on their hands and to much time to think.
But the provision in the constitution simply states that Congress cannot establish a religion, Reverend. How is the school board undermining that, unless they're somehow also controlling Congress?
They are Larry. I saw it on their Facebook account. Someone Twittered it to my Myspace so it must be true.
Rev,
Various states had "offical" stae religions and the intent was not to eliminate religion from society/institutions but to prohibit the Fed. government from becoming the instrument of one "official" religion as was the case in parts of Europe.
Where north of Hartville? Suffield, Mogadore. Your crack about religion stunting intellectual growth makes me lean towrad Kent.
angry conserv-
You are right as to what the purpose of the 1st smendment was…it was to keep the government out of religion, not keep all religious influence out of government. It also was originally meant to apply to Congress but since has seemingly been extended to any part of government down to the local level.
As for your comment about Kent I had to smile, but as liberal as Kent is, religion isn't looked on negatively here, it's looked on and celebrated as diversity believe it or not. There are quite a few active religious groups at Kent Roosevelt (and at KSU) and as a religious person who grew up in Kent, I never felt uncomfortable in the exercise of my beliefs even as a minority religion. On top of that, the choirs at the various schools frequently sing religious music at concerts from all different faiths (mostly Christian) and no one complains, again, because it's seen as a form of diversity.
As for Lake, perhaps a rewording would be good, not because it's bad to value a belief in God, but to truly clarify what they value, which is religious freedom (and which can include a belief in God). There has to be a way to make everyone, whether they choose to believe in God or not, comfortable. Even as someone who does believe in God, the statement does seem a bit out of place in the value statement of a public school, but I wouldn't go as far to say it's "unconstitutional."
Whoops maybe I should check my spelling better… *amendment
I won't believe it until I've downloaded it to my I-Pod, averagejoe.
Rev says, "The Lake School Board is obligated to obey the provisions laid out in the Constitution. Unless, of course, you're encouraging lawlessness"
Sooo, you think it's against the law for any government document or issue to use the word "God" ????
They should have arrested those lawless sob's who wrote the Declaration of Independence then. They used the word "God" in the first sentence of their mission statement, and "Creator" in the second sentence. Those lawless crazies even said our inalienable rights were endowed by that creator. These were many of the same lawless crazies who wrote that Constitution you are caterwauling about.
http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm
The Establishment Clause allowed for religious freedom. "God" is a generic term that can apply to any religion, as is the word "Creator." The term "God" doesn't establish a state religion. You are free to believe or not believe in whatever you wish.
And Rev, you never did answer my question about where you got the idea that conservatives were behind this. Why didn't you answer that question ?
First…I know Hartville……that's as conservative a community as you can find. Good people……but very Christian and very conservative.
When state after state, community after community are willing to openly violate the first amendment…..then liberals like me get concerned. If Muslim Americans were promoting the Koran in public schools as something the entire school "valued", then evangelicals would be closing those schools down, just like with the town-hall bust-ups. So I don't want to hear the faux whining by conservatives about this unconstitutional action in Lake Schools.
King imitates the evangelical no-nothings by reminding us that the Declaration uses the word Creator. And in turn, I will, once again, remind King, that god makes no appearance in our national governing document. What does make an appearance, however, is the prohibition on government from "making laws establishing religion."
Jrid, in a thoughtful comment, interprets Lake's wording as.."to truly clarify what they value, which is religious freedom (and which can include a belief in God)."
Why would a public school system find a need to write in their mission statement that "religious freedom" is what they valued? Doesn't anyone find that odd? And if that was all Lake Schools did, it would be one thing….but they didn't,….the mission statement says "We Value…….belief in God and religious freedom." That's two separate things…..and some wise-ass Christian, who wrote it, was just being too cute by half.
Question for Christians and conservatives…..does American government, in it's numerous forms, have the lawful right to compose laws, mission statements, objectives, and erect displays which promote or establish religion? And if the answer is yes, is it only the majority religion which can be promoted?
Rev, where the hell did you grow up?
King, great comment about god being a generic term
See my profile and follow the crumbs I drop.
So the word "god" is now a generic kind of black and white labeled box with big block letters G O D on it? I don't care whether it's generic or freaking brand name, a public school has no legal right to have a mission statement with, "We value…..belief in god,…in it. To anything that is public, government must remain neutral to religion. It cannot prohibit the practice of religion, and it cannot do anything to establish or promote religion. No matter what definition you want to ascribe to the word "god"……"belief in god" as a value in a public school mission statement is an illegal promotion of religion by government.
First of all, Hartville is an Amish community. They could care less about our battles between conservatives and liberals. They don't play our game.
Nobody is violating the First Amendment… except YOU. You are the one trying to shut people up.
"If Muslim Americans were promoting the Koran in public schools"
There wasn't a single word in the Lake public schools mission statement about any specific religion. It applies to Muslims as much as any other religion.
"What does make an appearance, however, is the prohibition on government from "making laws establishing religion."
Which religion is being established by the use of the word "God" ???????? Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc………..they all believe in God. Which God does Lake single out ? And how is the use of the word "God" establishing ONE religion in America ? It isn't.
"Why would a public school system find a need to write in their mission statement that "religious freedom" is what they valued?"
Gee, let's see……could it be because the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA says the same exact thing ?????????????????
This also answers your last irrelevant question.
'I know Hartville' translation: 'I am bigoted.'
It's his defining trait.
King – according to the "Amish and Mennonites of Northern Stark County" by Elmer S Yoder the last of the half dozen or so Amish families left Hartville in 2005. I live "just north" of that community and the Hartville Hardware is my favorite store in the world so I am in town often and I haven't seen a buggy or anything even remotely resembling Amish in town for 20 years except for the Amish restaurants of course – which aren't really Amish. You so see some huge tractors occasionally driving through town. There are some excellent businessmen living and operating there for sure though.
Are they all Theo-cons living there now, as the Rev says ?
When I say, "I know Hartville"…..it isn't as if I'm saying "I know Obama".
I've done business in and around Hartville for 35 years and I've witnessed, like alchemist, the transition from the days when horse and buggies regularly parked outside the old auction barn…to today's ultra-conservative, basically Amish-free community where a horse and buggy is rarely seen. I was inside the auction barn when they had real, you know, auctions. First hand experience, understandably for larry, means "I am bigoted."
Recently, Hartvillians turned down a site-specific request for Marc's to sell wine. They have the right…..but that's pretty conservative. Even conservative Tallmadge dropped the hyper-conservatism of Hartville and allowed the heathens to drink locally.
Does that make Hartvillians bad? Absolutely not. Like I said in the post, Hartville residents, not out of personal bigotry but actual, you know, experience, are good people. What it does help to understand, however, is why an ultra-conservative community, like Hartville, would want to theo-conize the public school system.
To King…..it must be some kind of a tic, or something. It isn't WHICH religion is being propagated……it's RELIGION, period, which the 1st amendment prohibits the government from "establishing". To argue that a public school mission statement clearly stating that "we value….belief in god" is not "establishing" religion is the height of disingenuousness.
This post is off topic. Hartville is an interesting town. Amish heritage, Congress Lake Country Club – one of the original founders was William McKinley, governor of Ohio and President of the United States, and a thriving Migrant Community, and as Rev said ultraconservative and "dry." An interesting website is http://www.growingseason.net. It is about a book written about the Hartville Migrant Community. I stumbled upon it one day and was fascinated by the life of those people I see working the land everytime I drive to Hartville during the "growing season" and for anyone who knows Hartville the photos on line and in the book are a must. I can't help thinking the Zellers could teach other migrant communities a lot. And no I do not live in Hartville – just near it in the boondocks.