Atheist mom: Death threats from angry Christians helped kill my faith

A Texas woman who spoke out in 2013 against prayer in schools says the vicious reaction she received has driven her away from Christianity altogether.

Beaumont’s Channel 12 News reported Thursday on Amber Barnhill, who joined other non-religious demonstrators at Lamar University’s “Ask an Atheist Day” on Thursday.

Channel 12 first met Barnhill when she objected to officially mandated Christian prayers at her son’s public school pre-kindergarten class. In the wake of that news segment, Barnhill said she was the object of an outpouring of rage and abuse, including death threats.

The nastiness of the response, she said, contributed to her loss of faith in religion.

“That’s not why I lost my faith in God,” Barnhill said. “But it did have a huge impact on how quickly that happened.”


Atheist mom: Death threats from angry Christians helped kill my faith

High School Coach Allegedly Kicked 3 Girls Off The Team After They Would Not Say A Mormon Prayer | ThinkProgress

Wondering where Alliance Defending Freedom is? You know the group that works "tirelessly to advocate for the right of people to freely live out their faith in America and around the world." Or Liberty Counsel? The "policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom." Isn't this coach being persecuted for "his" religious beliefs? Shouldn't the Reich and its media lapdogs be up in arms?

Oh wait, wrong kind of "christian." With Romney out of the picture, Mormonism is heading back to "cult" status:

But when "the greatest proclaimer of the gospel in the last century," as one Southern Baptist called Graham, embraced Mormonism last week, he confirmed conservative evangelicals' worst fears about the 2012 election: That Romney's rise would lift his Mormon church to cultural prominence and acceptance within mainstream Christianity.

Howell Scott, senior pastor Bethel Baptist Church in Alamogordo, N.M., said the BGEA's declassification of Mormonism as a cult "will have disastrous unintended consequences."

I will be curious to see how this dispute ends.

Three public school students in Mesa, Arizona, including a team captain, were allegedly removed from their varsity softball team, in part because they did not want to start each game with a “team prayer.” According to a complaint filed in a federal court in Arizona, the three girls were “penalized for not conducting ‘team prayer’ in accordance with the directive of Joseph Goodman,” the team’s coach. Coach Goodman, allegedly acted “for himself and at the behest of certain parents that were part of the [Mormon] Church.”

[,,,]
Setting aside the issue of whether Mormon students and parents in Mesa, Arizona enjoy a “heckler’s veto” that they can use to effectively shout down students that they disagree with, there is little question that the coach violated the Constitution if he actually punished students because they refused to participate in a prayer. Indeed, the coach’s alleged actions might even violate an unusually conservative vision of the Constitution. Justice Antonin Scalia has consistently argued that the wall of separation between church and state should be cut down a few sizes. Yet Scalia argued in his dissenting opinion in Lee v. Weisman that the state may not use the “threat of penalty” to “coerce anyone to support or participate in religion or its exercise.”

Punishing people who refuse to join a prayer before a softball game uses the threat of penalty to coerce them into a religious exercise. So the plaintiffs’ allegations, if proven true, may even violate Justice Scalia’s understanding of the Constitution.

High School Coach Allegedly Kicked 3 Girls Off The Team After They Would Not Say A Mormon Prayer | ThinkProgress

FFRF raises multiple constitutional issues in Okla. school district - Freedom From Religion Foundation

Among the allegations: District schools have taken students on field trips to a creationist park, Safari Zoological Park in Caney, Kan. The park's website describes its mission as "to show the awesomeness of our God in the individual wonder and uniqueness of all His creation." It continues, "we are more than an evolved matter over millions of years, but made fearfully and wonderfully in His image, with an eternal soul." FFRF's complainant said the park representative "spoke of God's miracles, about how perfect God is, about the Great Flood," and told students "that God made all the animals."
,,,
In addition, FFRF was informed that Marrs Elementary's teachers have led students in prayer, specifically at a Veterans Day assembly last year. "Public school teachers and staff may not lead, direct, ask, or even encourage students to pray," Seidel informed the school, asking the district to ensure the prayer did not reoccur at this year's upcoming assembly or any other school events.

Teachers at Marrs Elementary are also fond of emphasizing references to God in the Pledge of Allegiance and the national motto, according to the complainant family. The school has posted a framed "In God We Trust" display on every classroom wall, and one teacher sent students home with a copy of the Pledge of Allegiance to memorize, boldfacing the words "under God," even though students are free to amend the wording or not engage in the pledge at all, Seidel wrote, citing court cases.


FFRF raises multiple constitutional issues in Okla. school district - Freedom From Religion Foundation

FFRF stops coach-led prayer for two high school football teams - Freedom From Religion Foundation

Coaches at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, Del., and Piedmont High School in Piedmont, Ala., will no longer lead their players in prayer or participate in students’ prayers, after receiving letters from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

FFRF Staff Attorney Elizabeth Cavell wrote to the Cape Henlopen School District on Oct. 8 after receiving a report that the high school football coaches participated in a team prayer circle. “While students may wish to engage in prayer on their own, school staff, including coaches, cannot participate in or encourage such religious activities,” Cavell informed the district.

[,,,]
In a similar First Amendment violation, FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert first wrote to Piedmont City Schools in March, informing the district that Piedmont High’s practice of beginning football games with prayer broadcast over the loudspeaker was unconstitutional.

After multiple follow-up letters from FFRF, Superintendent Matt Akin emailed Markert last summer, informing her, “Beginning immediately, the Piedmont City School District will no longer allow student led prayer at athletic events.”

The complaint is making news again this week after Piedmont High School posted a message on its Facebook page informing the public of its decision. Noting that FFRF had cited numerous Supreme Court cases in its letter, the post said, “While the personal opinions of the administration and employees of the system may differ with the opinions of the Court and the author of the letter sent to the system, the school system’s attorneys advised that we consent since there is established case law regarding this issue.”


FFRF stops coach-led prayer for two high school football teams - Freedom From Religion Foundation

ADDENDUM::“Fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote”: The Freedom from Religion Foundation calls out Lebanon’s School Board and Superintendent « Why Evolution Is True

Concerning this story brought to light by Dr. Jerry Coyne, Atheists attack public high school principal for praying to God during graduation ceremony:

Below is a copy of the letter that the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) sent yesterday to the Superintendent of the Lebanon, Missouri School District, as well as to all members of the Lebanon School Board. The author, FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott, lays out on pages 2 and 3 the legal case (and the precedents) for Principal Lowery’s speech constituting a violation of the First Amendment.

“Fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote”: The Freedom from Religion Foundation calls out Lebanon’s School Board and Superintendent « Why Evolution Is True

Atheists attack public high school principal for praying to God during graduation ceremony

According to Dr. Jerry Coyne, Principal Kevin Lowery of Lebanon High School in Missouri delivered a speech that “blatantly disregarded the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to impose his religious beliefs on a captive audience.”

Lowery “not only called for a moment of silence (a common way around the prohibition of prayer in public schools), but then told the audience that he used his own moment of silence to ask for God’s blessing.” In a video of the graduation ceremony, Lowery can be heard saying that “while it would not be politically correct for us to have an official prayer this evening, I would like for us to have a moment of silence in honor of tonight’s graduates.”

After the moment of silence ends, the principal said “just in case you’re interested, during my moment of silence, I gave thanks to God for these great students, their parents, their teachers, and for this community.”

“I’m not finished,” he added. “I asked God to protect these students as they go their separate ways into the world. I asked God to avail Himself in every possible way. And I asked God to watch over them, to protect them, and to bless them with self-fulfillment, with compassion, inner peace, and personal prosperity.”

Atheists attack public high school principal for praying to God during graduation ceremony

Dad: Teacher Told My Kid to Stop Lunchtime Prayer | Todd Starnes

I have been taking a bit of a wait and see attitude with this Todd Starnes diatribe just for the simple fact that daddy dearest went the YouTube route BEFORE contacting school official. I am also having a hard time keeping up with all the antics of Reich and when this story first broke, I honestly didn't think much would come of it. Boy was I wrong!

The basic according to Starnes:

A Florida school district is giving teachers a refresher course on religious liberty after the parents of a five-year-old kindergarten student said a teacher told their daughter that she was not allowed to pray before eating her lunch time meal.

Marcos Perez, of Oviedo, Fla., said the incident occurred earlier this month in the lunch room at Carillon Elementary School.

He said his daughter was sitting at a table about to eat when she bowed her head and began to pray.

“A teacher saw her and told her, ‘you’re not allowed to do that,’” he said.

Perez said his little girl replied, “But it’s good to pray.” The teacher alleged replied, “It’s not good.”

He said his daughter tried to pray once more but was admonished by the teacher. The child was not formally punished, he said.

What is compelling about this story is not so much that Perez is vice president of sales at Charisma House (the company that is promoting Starnes' new book), but that Liberty Institute and family have now rejected the school's apology and are threatening legal action. Publicity or money?

That aside, Wonkette has once again pulled everything together concerning the initial incident and the recent aftermath.

My question remains, does anyone believe that in this day-and-age, with all the faux outrage generated by the likes of Starnes, that an educator or administration would be so naive and lax in their handling of said situation?

Dad: Teacher Told My Kid to Stop Lunchtime Prayer | Todd Starnes

Committee passes school prayer bill on voice vote | The Montgomery Advertiser | montgomeryadvertiser.com

Now as quickly as it was proposed, HB 318 has passed through the legislature,,,

By way of a voice vote, the House Education Policy Committee passed a bill that would require teachers to recite Christian prayers in public schools every day, even though the majority of members did not vote for it.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve Hurst, R-Munford, would require teachers to spend no more than 15 minutes in the first class of each day to read, verbatim, opening prayers said before a meeting of the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.

Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin, R-Indian Springs, chairwoman of the committee, said she heard more votes in favor of the bill.

“It’s what I heard as chairman,” she said.

[,,,]
House Clerk Jeff Woodard said the chairman of each committee has the discretion to decide the outcome of a voice vote. Committee members can request roll call votes if there’s a dispute, but none of the Education Policy committee members did.

Woodard said the majority of bills coming out of committees are passed by voice vote.

Committee passes school prayer bill on voice vote | The Montgomery Advertiser | montgomeryadvertiser.com

See also: 
From Americans United for Separation of Church & State,,, 

Using Congressional prayers does not, in fact, make this bill constitutional. A teacher-led prayer in a public school is undoubtedly different than a prayer in a legislative meeting. First, congressional prayers are directed only at the legislators themselves, who are adults, rather than young and impressionable students. Second, the opening prayers of a legislative session typically has an atmosphere where adults are free to enter and leave without notice. Students in a classroom, on the other hand, are a captive audience and legally mandated to attend school.

Even if the teacher’s prayer is not specific to any certain religion, it would show government endorsement of religion over non-religion and would almost certainly make some children feel uncomfortable and ostracized if they need to step into the hallway to avoid the prayer. Because it is likely to be found unconstitutional, this bill would inevitably waste taxpayer money with endless lawsuits.

Anniston Star - Bill would require reading of Congressional prayers in Alabama schools

Teachers in Alabama classrooms would be required to read a Congressional prayer every day under a bill filed in the state Legislature.

"If Congress can open with a prayer, and the state of Alabama Legislature can, I don't see why schools can't," said Rep. Steve Hurst, R-Munford, the bill's sponsor.

Hurst's bill would require schools to set aside the first portion of the first class period every day "for study of the formal procedures followed by U.S. Congress," which must include "a reading verbatim of one of the opening prayers" given at the opening of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives.

Hurst said the bill would help students learn more about history and civics.

"They could read the prayer from the day war was declared in World War II," he said. "They could read the prayer the day after Sept. 11."

The bill would limit the daily instruction on congressional procedures to 15 minutes per day. That instruction could include teaching about other procedures of Congress, but would always include the reading of a prayer.

Anniston Star - Bill would require reading of Congressional prayers in Alabama schools

See also:
Hemant Mehta makes an interesting point, one only a school teacher would be keenly aware of,,,

Setting aside the likely unconstitutionality of this idea, I have to go back to the length of time again. As a teacher in Illinois, we’re required by law to have an approximately 15-second moment of silence to start our day. It’s completely unnecessary and a complete waste of time. Hurst thinks he’d be doing kids a favor by wasting up to 15 minutes per day? That’s approximately 45 hours a year that wouldn’t be spent teaching the kids something more useful.

Georgia House bill would allow more prayer in schools | savannahnow.com

"Students would have more opportunity to lead prayer in public schools under a legislative proposal that received widespread support from a House subcommittee Monday but opposition from witnesses,,,Its stated goal is to prevent students from being discriminated against because of their religious viewpoints, permitting them to voluntarily offer their opinions in class, school events and even in their homework assignments. It would be optional for the local school boards".

What could possibly go wrong with this piece of legislation?? Let's see. Little Sally Wiccawitch brings her Book of Shadows to school to read a "prayer." Or Johnny Buddhisto, he wants to lead a meditation before the big football game. Any one see that happening?? Me neither!!

Hightower may want to talk to Louisiana Rep. Valarie Hodges and ask what she thinks of her vote to support Jindal's voucher program. You see in her Christian zeal, she mistakenly assumed that ‘religious’ meant Christian only. She was shocked to find out, after the fact, that religious included Muslims.
__
"If passed into law, no school district would be required to do anything different than they do today unless they elect to," Hightower said.

If local boards opt in, the bill sets up steps to protect other students who do not wish to be preached at.

But lobbyists from three rights groups warned it would backfire.

"Our analysis shows it will subject students to unwanted proselytizing," said Shelley A. Rose, interim director of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish-rights group.

She also said that opening up morning announcements or football-stadium public address systems to any student wishing to make a pronouncement of personal faith will not be popular when Satanists or Wiccans take advantage of the opportunity.

Chad Brock, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, echoed her assessment. He also noted that it would likely be unconstitutional.

Georgia House bill would allow more prayer in schools | savannahnow.com

Humanist Group Fights Back Against School District That Held Graduation in Church with Christians Prayers in Ceremony

Hemant lays out an excellent timeline in regards to this filing which began last year. The highlighted text with his report will make you cringe!

Last year, the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center found out that administrators at Mountain View Elementary School in Taylors, South Carolina held their “graduation” ceremony inside of a church.

To make matters worse, the program for the event very clearly listed two separate prayers — both of which were led by students. Furthermore, both were Christian prayers that referred to “Jesus” and both were approved by a school official before the ceremony:

[,,,]
After another round of back-and-forth, the district took a stand and said they would not stop student-initiated prayers, leading the AHA to file a federal lawsuit on behalf of a family in the district.

Unfortunately, December’s court hearing was a mess. The judge, Ross Anderson, said things that no one with a strong knowledge of the facts should have said, a claim the AHA suggests in a recent court filing,,,

[,,,]
In short, Anderson’s handling of the case was exactly what you would expect from a stereotypical ignorant bigot who happened to fall into a position of power, not an educated person whose job is to understand all sides of a case before making a ruling.

Today, the AHA filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit asking for a reversal of Anderson’s dismissal of the case. They’re also requesting that anonymity be preserved for the plaintiffs so that they don’t have to deal with any harassment or retribution from the community.

In a press release, the AHA said they filed the motion because Anderson’s ruling was “nothing more than the court expressing its personal dislike for the case,” adding,,,

Humanist Group Fights Back Against School District That Held Graduation in Church with Christians Prayers in Ceremony

Algona Upper Des Moines > Archives > Opinion > Editorials & Columns > Ask the pastor: What about prayer in schools?

As I was reading though I was struck by a thought, make that 2 thoughts; err, 2 thoughts that are related (does that make it only one thought then?). First, "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." (Matt 6:5-6, KJV)

And second, why would they want prayer in schools in the first place? Now mind you I am not referring to student led "clubs" that may meet prior to classes or praying before a meal or an after school Bible study club. I am talking full ,on morning announcement type prayer. Or prayer at an assembly of some type, like a pre-game situation. Seriously do they get up in the morning thinking I have to get to school so I can pray?

My only caveat in regards to Peterson's Op, atheists are not trying to take away Christians’ right to pray. We just want to stop the overreach of religion, like when teachers or administrators attempt to proselytize to students. Or worse, what is transpiring in Louisiana.
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Interesting to note is that it is not only atheists or religious minorities who oppose school-sponsored prayer. Rather, many Christians actually oppose prayer in the public schools as well, usually because they do not desire that their children be led in prayers which might contradict the doctrinal position of their church…

In the wake of the school prayer prohibitions, there then occurred an overcorrection of sorts. Many citizens who were uninformed about the legal reasoning involved began to mistakenly conclude that all religious speech and action are forbidden in public schools. On the contrary, courts have consistently held that it is acceptable to read various scriptures as world literature or to describe religion in the context of history and the social sciences.

[,,,]
Of course, in such an emotionally-charged topic as religion, there will be occasions where the rules are abused, manipulated, or ignored, but Christians should resist the temptation to engage in such tactics. Instead, the Christian is called to defend their rights as a religious citizen, while at the same time doing so in a legal, ethical, and non-malicious manner.

The first step should always be to seek to work with the school and its officials to ensure students’ rights are protected, and even if such efforts fail, to pursue the defense of their rights without spitefulness or a desire for revenge, but instead in the interest of protecting the liberty of their neighbors and community.

Algona Upper Des Moines > Archives > Opinion > Editorials & Columns > Ask the pastor: What about prayer in schools?

South Carolina Democrats back bill calling for mandatory daily prayers in public schools | The Raw Story

These individuals need to review Engel v. Vitale (1962) which ruled that prayer is not permitted in public school classrooms when a class is in session.

"Most of the legislation’s sponsors are Democrats. It was introduced by Reps. Wendell Gilliard (D), Robert Williams (D), Joseph Jefferson (D), Carl Anderson (D), Liston Barfield (R), Bill Clyburn (D), Heather Ammons Crawford (R), Lonnie Hosey (D), Robert Ridgeway III (D), and Don Wells (R)."

As written, H. 3526: ",,,PERMIT SCHOOLS TO LEAD A PRAYER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL DAY,,,the teacher may deliver a prayer,,," violates Wallace v. Jaffree (1985). In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an Alabama "moment of silence" law was unconstitutional. It had allowed public schools in the state to start each classroom day with a moment "for meditation or voluntary prayer." The court decided 6 to 3 that the legislature's sole purpose in passing the law was to promote religion.

"The lawmakers said they were willing to compromise on that point." Pinning their hopes on a ruling in 2000 ruling by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton or any number of other cases: "The court finds that the Commonwealth's daily observance of one minute of silence act is constitutional. The act was enacted for a secular purpose, does not advance or inhibit religion, nor is there excessive entanglement with religion,,,Students may think as they wish -- and this thinking can be purely religious in nature or purely secular in nature. All that is required is that they sit silently"

I have to agree with Dawn Reitan-Brockman in her article, "A Moment of Silence: The Trojan Horse of Our Age":

,,,a thinly veiled attempt to reintroduce state-sanctioned prayer into its schools. Through trial and error in the courts, legislators have finally learned how to beat the system, beat the Lemon test, and apparently beat all the meaning out of the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment. Governmental intention to promote religion is clear when a state enacts a law to serve a religious purpose, and the intention may be evidenced by promotion of religion in general or by advancement of a particular religious belief. "Moment of silence" statutes not only promote religion in general by mandating a state sanctioned time to pray in schools, but also accommodate free exercise of religion for those who engage only in traditionally Protestant practices of praying silent, seated and still.

South Carolina Democrats back bill calling for mandatory daily prayers in public schools | The Raw Story

6 Biggest Religious Right Threats to America

Lawmakers like Fiscus often push their agenda in defiance of established constitutional law, and sometimes hope they can create a case to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn previous decisions that contradict their personal beliefs. Americans Uni­ted combated a wide array of state-level leg­islative schemes in 2012 that sought to tear down the critical safeguards that keep church and state separate,,,With most state legislatures starting their annual sessions this month, here is a look at some of the top threats to church-state separation expected in 2013, including school voucher bills, creationism ploys, “conscience” exemptions, anti-shar­iah legislation and so-called “religious freedom” and “prayer” caucuses.

[,,,]  Advocacy groups have worked hard to build support for vouchers. StudentsFirst, the Memphis Commercial Appeal says, has given thousands of dollars to candidates in legislative campaigns in the last two years. The newspaper said that group donated $427,000 through its Tennessee PAC between January and November 2012 alone.

[,,,]  “If a student thinks something isn’t true, then they can question the teacher and the teacher would have to come up with some kind of research to support that what they are teaching is true or not true,” Kruse told the Indianapolis Star,,,But Micah Clark, executive director of American Family Association of Indiana, was a little more forthcoming about the bill’s true intent. He told the Star that he sees the proposal as a form of protection for teachers who want to discuss creationism and intelligent design.

[,,,]  Legislators regularly come up with new schemes to allow coercive prayer and proselytizing in public schools, and Americans United staffers expect this year to be no exception,,,In Virginia, a proposal was filed just ahead of the 2013 legislative session that would create a state constitutional amendment to “secure further the people’s freedom of speech and right to acknowledge God” on public property and presumably in public schools.

[,,,]  The news media has reported widely on the campaign by the Cath­olic bishops and the Religious Right to win “conscience” exemptions from provisions of the Obama health care reform, but this issue has also filtered down to the state level. Sectarian lobbies want to exempt religious institutions and individuals from a broad range of laws that ensure civil rights and civil liberties,,,A leading proponent of this type of legislation is the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), a Washington, D.C., group that advocates public policy based on the “Judeo-Christian moral tradition.”

[,,,]  A similar movement to the one orchestrated by the EPPC is under way thanks to the efforts of U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.),,,That may not sound so sinister, but critics say it’s every bit as misleading as the EPPC “religious freedom” caucuses. The CPCF claims to encourage state lawmakers to “partner with churches and para-church organizations, and ultimately preserve faith in God as lifeblood of America.”

[,,,]  The U.S. Constitution already prohibits government enforcement of religious law, but right-wing groups are insisting that legislatures take the extra step of banning shariah – Islamic law,,,As of press time, anti-shariah legislation had been pre-filed for the 2013 legislative sessions in Alabama and Florida. Texas has pre-filed a bill proposing a ballot measure to amend the state’s constitution to prohibit enforcement, consideration or application of any “religious or cultural law.”


6 Biggest Religious Right Threats to America

Keeping Watch: The Latest, Biggest Threats From The Religious Right

These are very real threats to real religious freedom. Make no mistake, there are groups of fundamentalists who have the agenda of dominionism, to create a Christian nation in America. They have no thought for the Constitution. No respect for other faiths. No love for democracy. They are backed by powerful monied interests. Some of the things I’ve written about are simply religious nuts trying to force their faith on the rest of us. But these Christian Reconstructionists are dangerous. We must know and understand the difference while resisting all attempts to align U.S. laws with religion – any religion. When it comes to government, the only thing we should worship is the Constitution. Outside of that, hey, whatever floats your boat. Just don’t try to sink mine.