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But the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) sent a letter to the school district requesting its removal because they claim the sign violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The elementary school has a student population of over 400, and apparently one parent complained to FFRF of the sign. The FFRF’s claim is that “despite the absence of any mention of ‘god’ or a concluding ‘amen,’ the plaque functions as a prayer”. They also equated the sign with “proselytizing to a captive audience.”

The school is neither “preaching” nor “brainwashing” by means of this sign.

The really ironic part of this whole charade is FFRF attorney Annie Laurie Gaylor’s statement, “It is disturbing that a public school would be preaching a New Testament message to a captive audience of elementary schoolkids. Children at that young and impressionable age should not be subjected to attempted religious brainwashing.”

The school is neither “preaching” nor “brainwashing” by means of this sign. And since the school almost certainly teaches Darwinian evolution as part of its science curriculum, they are completely promoting humanism and naturalism as the state religion and brainwashing impressionable children with the belief that they are just animals (but I don’t see FFRF complaining about that because they want that to happen).

FFRF closed out their typical-type bullying letter with a demand that the school take immediate action and remove the sign, and also requested that the Harford County School District makes sure there aren’t any other “unconstitutional religious plaques.” The veiled threat behind the letter is, of course, that the FFRF may initiate a lawsuit if the school does not meet their demands. That’s how they get their way so often by using such threats. What will come next? Banning the “old English style lettering”? Unbelievably, even that was mentioned in their letter to the school.

It’s not enough that evolution, humanism, and atheism are all taught (or inferred) as fact and are the promoted state religion. It’s not enough that any mention of God or a biblical reference are outlawed in public schools. No—the FFRF even wants to take away even allusions to the Bible and wants to label anything remotely Christian as brainwashing. Even a supporter of the FFRF is quoted in the news article as saying “Yes, nearly everyone recognizes it as a quote from the bible, but it is somewhat ambiguous as it doesn't mention God, Jesus, Christ, praying, the Bible, or anything else connected with Christianity. Most non-Christians or lifelong atheists/agnostics would probably not recognize the quote.”

Now I don’t know what the outcome of this will be, although it seems most likely the school will cave in to pressure from FFRF as so many do, rather than stand up to the atheist bullies (FFRF describe themselves as “unabashed atheists”). But this just reminds me that we are increasingly seeing anything even remotely Christian as coming under attack and censure.

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Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.