Ohio School District Defends Assembly Hosted By Christian Group
A school district in Ohio is seeking to defend itself after receiving complaints from an atheist organization regarding school assemblies held by a Christian organization.
Licking Valley School District is seeking to defend its actions after receiving a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, imploring the public school district to not allow school assemblies to be hosted by a religious group.
The Licking Valley Elementary School recently allowed the Jubilee Gang, an evangelical group, to host an assembly that was angled at inspiring children to live positive, productive lives. Now, the atheist group is arguing that the school district violated the separation of church and state by allowing a religious group to speak during a school assembly.
Licking Valley Local Schools Superintendent David Hile has told local media outlets that he doesn't believe a complete separation of church and state is realistic, adding that the recent Jubilee Gang assembly did not carry a religious message. Rather, it inspired children to be positive and outgoing in their daily lives.
"I think there's a false notion out there that there's no religion in the schools, and it's simply not true," Hile told NBC 4. "We've taught a class about the Bible in our English department at the high school. You can do that because the Bible is a book. It's knowledge. You can teach it in a secular fashion in a non-religious way."
"The constitution doesn't say that you can't have people who have a religious background speak to your students," the superintendent continued. "The establishment cause says that the government agency can't promote or encourage one religion over another. It doesn't say that we can't have a pastor with a message come in with a message that is secular in nature."
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has argued otherwise, writing in a recent letter to the school district that "Jubilee Gang's entire purpose and reason for being is to bring children to Christianity."
"It's hard to see any 'secular' programming this organization could provide to public schools that would be presented without an ulterior motive," the letter adds.
