Click here to view full article at www.patheos.com
In a unanimous decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today, the judges ruled that the Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Directors (in California) was indeed violating the Establishment Clause by promoting Christianity at meetings.
This is a huge victory for church/state separation and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
To understand what this case was about, you should know that board meetings in this District frequently resembled church services . The board members often led explicitly Christian prayers and read Bible verses out loud: … CVUSD Board of Education President James Na said [at a meeting] “our lives begin in the hospital and end in the church, and urged everyone who does not know Jesus Christ to go and find Him .” Mr. [Andrew] Cruz “closed by reading Psalm 143.” In late 2014 , the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a federal lawsuit against the district on behalf of a student, two parents, and a District employee: The plaintiffs “feel that the government is taking sides against them on religious questions,” and view the prayers, bible readings, and proselytizing as state-endorsed religion. The board is excessively entangled with religion, alleges the complaint, noting there is no secular or educational purpose for prayers, bible readings, or proselytizing. FFRF contends this violates the Establishment Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and the California Constitution. FFRF repeatedly attempted to resolve these constitutional violations without litigation. FFRF originally contacted the board on Sept. 14, 2013, asking it to stop scheduling prayers at its meetings. The board responded on Oct. 7, 2013, refusing the request. These board members didn’t know the difference between church and state, and they saw school board meetings as an extension of the pulpit, where everyone in the room was just a target for proselytization, no matter their age.
Unbelievably, things got only worse after that.
At a meeting shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the Board of Education voted 3-2 in favor of finding an attorney to “defend the board without pay” against the legal challenge, clearly not realizing that while Christian legal groups won’t charge them for their services, the […]