Religious Freedom – Page 79

Student Banned from Distributing Flier Because of Bible Verse

Dec 5, 2013JerryReligious FreedomReligion, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

A seventh-grader in Kansas has been barred from distributing fliers to classmates simply because the fliers contain a Bible verse.

Based on news reports, the school has what appears to be an unconstitutional policy prohibiting students from distributing any material of a religious nature on school property.

Courts have ruled repeatedly that students do not forfeit their religious liberties simply by walking onto school property; as long as they do not disrupt the learning environment, students are free to pray, discuss religion, share their faith, and engage in other forms of constitutionally-protected speech.

Watch the video below for more information on this situation.

Army Suspends Anti-Christian Briefings

Oct 29, 2013JerryReligious FreedomMilitary, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Recently we told you about a training session in which U.S. Army personnel were told the American Family Association is a “domestic hate group.”

The AFA, a Christian ministry well known for its American Family Radio, was likened to the Ku Klux Klan, Black Panthers, and other groups. Similar incidents have happened across the country in what has become a very troubling trend.

Yesterday, however, the Pentagon announced it is putting a stop to these briefings. The training seminars in which these incidents have occurred will resume in November, but under a new directive that states in part,

Emphasize that neither [the Department of Defense] nor the Army maintain or publish any centralized list of specific organizations considered to be extremist in nature or in opposition to the Army’s core values….use [the] chain of command to answer questions and resolve issues.

This is a welcomed change for many who have been concerned about statements made against evangelical Christians by trainers at Camp Shelby, Fort Hood, and elsewhere in recent months.

You can download a copy of the new directive here.

You can read the American Family Association’s response to the new directive here.

CA School District Bars Choirs from Performing in Church Buildings

Oct 25, 2013JerryReligious FreedomReligious Freedom, Religious Liberty

A California school district has barred school choirs from performing inside church buildings.

Up until recently, the district’s choir program had performed in some churches because the acoustics of the buildings were deemed superior to other venues. The school district superintendent, however, barred the choirs from performing in such venues because of complaints she received along with concerns that it is unconstitutional for a school group to perform in a religious building.

As attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom have noted, this is an unnecessary policy change. The previous policy was religiously-neutral, concerned only with a venue’s acoustics; it had nothing to do with preferring a religious venue over a secular venue.

(more…)