FFRF has received numerous complaints about bible distributions taking place on public school grounds and within school walls. Recent parent complaints about these bible pushers have come from all over the country . . .

FFRF’s legal team wrote superintendents to complain over all of these violations. In a letter from FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott to Rob Ring Jr., superintendent of Schools for Weld County RE-9, “It is unconstitutional for public school districts to allow the distribution of bibles on school grounds to a captive audience of students. Courts have held that the distribution of bibles to students at public schools is prohibited . . . “

“Courts have almost unanimously agreed that distribution of bibles in elementary schools is unconstitutional because young elementary school children are too impressionable to make the distinction between private religious speech and school-sponsored speech,” said Gaylor. “It is unconscionable,” she noted, “for predatory adults to target young children who are a captive audience in our public schools.”

I believe it to be equally, if not more, unconscionable for parents to target their children who are a captive audience in their own home as well [MSH]. Read more . . . 

Today is “See You At The Pole 2011,” an annual prayer observance at public schools. Students gather around the flagpoles at their schools before classes to engage in Christian devotions . . .

AU Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan and AU Senior Litigation Counsel Alex J. Luchenitser asserted that SYATP observances are constitutional only if they are student-initiated and -sponsored and take place outside school hours. Teachers and other school officials should not participate, and students should not be urged to attend . . . 

While the specific flagpole prayers at public schools are generally student-led, the larger effort is carefully coordinated by fundamentalist Christian evangelists out to proselytize America’s youth. Read more . . . 

THE Austrialian government and the BBC have been identified as “enemies of Christianity” following their decisions to replace the terms BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini) with “politically correct” BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) . . .

The Wail reports here that the BBC’s Religious and Ethics department states: As the BBC is committed to impartiality it is appropriate that we use terms that do not offend or alienate non-Christians. In line with modern practice, BCE/CE (Before Common Era/Common Era) are used as a religiously neutral alternative to BC/AD . . .

But Rabbi Jonathan Romain, from Maidenhead Synagogue, said he could see the logic behind the change. ‘In the year of Our Lord’ is a religious view that is not shared by many across the world, or even the UK. The change to BCE and CE is simply more inclusive. Read more . . .