School bans prayer to appease atheists. Then along comes this Valedictorian *video* (Congress, spokesman)
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Hooray for him. I hope that he pi**ed off a bunch of athiests.
And also Jews, Muslims, those Christians who find this type of public prayer offensive, etc. It isn't only atheists that object to this type of behavior.
I am always AMAZED how difficult it is for some people to comprehend the concepts of separation of church and state and freedom of religion.
A public school is an extension of the government simply by its very definition of being publicly funded. As such, any public institution is not allowed to promote or approve of any one religion. The Supreme Court has found that this concept also includes the notion that there is no god. Given the myriad of religious beliefs, it is impossible to include ALL of them while simultaneously including none of them. Thus, the logical conclusion is to make religion a non-issue.
Activities that are conducted by students ON BEHALF of a public school can, therefore, not endorse a religion.
This is, of course, not some strange kind of bullying by atheists but is, quite simply, the law of this country - arrived at by logical deduction and lessons of the past.
Personal speeches, however, clearly can include religion - since they are an expression of personal beliefs and not an endorsement on behalf of a public institution.
Of course, showing off just how religious one is would be, in the case of Christianity, utterly un-Christian. But never mind that - we got a point to make even if making this point goes against Christian teachings. Seems rather self-serving and ridiculous - but kids will be kids.
"Freedom from religion does not mean, as some mistakenly seem to claim, being free from seeing religion in society. No one has the right not to see churches, religious expression, and other examples of religious belief in our nation — and those who advocate freedom of religion do not claim otherwise.
What freedom from religion does mean, however, is the freedom from the rules and dogmas of other people’s religious beliefs so that we can be free to follow the demands of our own conscience, whether they take a religious form or not. Thus, we have both freedom of religion and freedom from religion because they are two sides of the same coin.
Interestingly, the misunderstandings here can be found in many other myths, misconceptions and misunderstandings as well. Many people don’t realize — or don’t care — that real religious liberty must exist for everyone, not just for themselves. It’s no coincidence that people who object to the principle of “freedom from religion” are adherents of religious groups whose doctrines or standards would be the ones enforced by the state."
He broke the rules by going off of his approved speech. He should be fined $1000.00 just like the girl who wore an eagle feather, or not be able to get his diploma.
Break the rules, deal with your punishment.
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If he were my son, I would be very proud of him
