Atheist Group Condemns 'Religious Nature' Of School Event With Preacher
A national atheist group is accusing a school district in Mississippi for allegedly violating the constitution when they recently allowed a pastor to lead a prayer at a district-sponsored event for its public school teachers.
The American Humanist Association recently sent a letter to the Jackson Public School District in Jackson, Mississippi, arguing that the district had allegedly participated in "unconstitutional religious proselytization" when it allowed a local preacher to deliver the invocation at a convocation event for the district's public school teachers.
"The Reverend began his sermon by asking the entire faculty to 'shut your eyes please' and pray," the letter to the school district reads. "Following that was a series of 'call and responses' where he would ask the teachers, 'please say amen to that,' to which they would respond, 'amen!'"
"Nearly every speaker at this three-hour event engaged in some form of religious preaching, recitation of Bible verses, and invocation to 'Lord' and 'God.' The event was best described by our client as 'one long church service.'"
The atheist group demands in the letter that the school district confirm that it will never again allow religious-themed references to be included in school-sanctioned events.
"Given the numerous cases holding that prayers and sermons at public school-sponsored events violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, it's shocking that the district would include such blatantly religious practices at a compulsory convocation," Monica Miller, an attorney with the Appignani Humanist Legal Center, the legal arm of the AHA, said in a statement.
A spokesman with the Jackson School District told WAPT-TV that the district has received the letter and is planning a written response to the American Humanist Association.
