|
Parent protests free Bibles at school |
|
|
Thursday, 05 November 2009 |
A parent of a fifth-grade student at Ringgold Elementary in Benton has filed a complaint with the Freedom of Religion Foundation after two representatives of Gideons International visited the school to distribute free Bibles.
According to the parent, the men handed out Bibles to everyone they met and were escorted through the school by the principal, Ann Kerr.
Kerr denies the claims made by the parent, though she did verify that the Gideons had been in the school and visited each classroom.
“I just went with them, like I do other guests. I did not escort them. They did not pass out the Bibles. They placed the Bibles on the table so the students could take them if they would like them,” she said.
The Benton School District has since released a statement concerning the issue. The statement, given to all principals in the school district, said: “You are hereby instructed to ensure that allowing religious materials to be made available to our students is done in a manner no different from the manner in which non-religious materials are made available, if any; and you may not allow those making religious materials available to make presentations to the students to a greater degree, if any, than those promoting non-religious information.”
Superintendent Tony Prothro said this is the first time the district has had a complaint about the Gideons being in the schools. He said the men have visited the school district for more than 12 years.
According to the district’s policy, “the building principal may prohibit a specific issue of a specific publication or other publication if there is substantial, factual basis to believe its possession of distribution will cause, or is causing, substantial distribution of school activities.” The policy also states that all materials must be reviewed by the principal before they can be distributed.
In relation to the distribution of Gideon Bibles, Prothro said “We go by past practice. It’s a Gideon Bible; it’s not that hard to look at.”
Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom of Religion Foundation, said the Gideons are a common complaint. She said permitting the Gideons to come onto school property is an “unconstitutional endorsement of religion and a misuse of public schools.” She cited two Supreme Court cases which ruled the distribution of Gideon Bibles as unconstitutional.
“[The Gideons] go all over the country breaking the law. What does it teach children if the Bibles are given out like that? How will they understand there is a separation of church and state?
“Most parents want to direct their children’s religious lives. They don’t want their school doing it,” Gaylor said.
“This is a group of grown people giving their religious propaganda to fifth graders. They should pick on people their own age instead of a captive audience of young people in their school,” she added.
Craig Warner, assistant executive director of Gideons International, said it is not against the law for the Gideons to enter the schools.
“This is freedom of speech. There are certain school districts where you can’t go onto the grounds with religious material. We wouldn’t have gone into the school without the principal’s permission,” Warner said.
Warner said the group distributes Bibles to students in fifth grade and older. He said they do not target young children, citing the group’s placement of Bibles in hotels and motels and the group’s prison ministry.
“We want to give them to kids that know the difference between right and wrong. We’re not trying to catch a kid that’s too young and doesn’t understand,” he said.
However, the Bryant School District said the Gideons have entered their kindergarten through fifth grade schools in the past, though they have only asked to set up a table in the hallway.
“Students are allowed to pick up the resources if they would like or they could just walk by and not even think about it. They do not go into the classrooms or other student organizations,” said Jessica Norris, communications director for the Bryant School District.
In Harmony Grove, Superintendent Danny Henley said the Gideons do not go through the school to distribute the Bibles. They drop them off at the individual schools and make them available to students if they want one. The Gideons have gone and handed them to the fifth-grade students who want one and during that distribution, they do visit the classroom.
|
Razorbacks
