Atheist Group Accuses School District of Passing Out Bibles
An atheist group is accusing a Mississippi school district of aiding in handing out Bibles to fifth grade students.
The American Humanist Association is accusing Northwest Rankin Elementary School, located in Jackson, of violating the Establishment clause, claiming that the principal at the school instructed fifth grade students to walk through the school lobby so they may receive a Gideon's Bible.
The practice of supplying Bibles to elementary school children is practiced by Gideons International across the country. The group is usually allowed to passively pass out the Bibles, meaning they can leave them on a table unattended or students to pick up, if they choose, during a free period.
The American Humanist Association has sent a letter to Kara Killough, principal of Northwest Rankin Elementary School in Rankin County, and other high-ranking school officials imploring them to stop allegedly violating the First Amendment through their Gideons Bible practices.
According to Gulf Live, Monica Miller, an attorney for the atheist group, said in the letter to the school that "the teachers were not merely passive observers but were expressly instructed to assist the Gideons by making the children walk through the lobby where the Bibles were distributed."
"We are troubled by the school district's complete disregard for the Establishment Clause and the rights of religious minorities in the district," Miller wrote. "The school's recent actions also demonstrate a complete disregard for the Consent Decree, or worse, an intentional unwillingness to comply with its terms."
