Toto
September 4, 2006, 04:02 PM
District may have crossed church, state line (http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newFLAG01090206.htm)
By JANETTE NEUWAHL Staff Writer
. . . controversy surrounds the Fellowship of Christian Athletes that used in-school assemblies this week to hand out tickets to religious events.
Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee, said the Flagler County school district is blurring the separation of church and state in schools when they allow groups to entice students to religious events.
"They had a captive audience of kids in a public school and in that setting, the school is turning over the kids to this group for the message," he said. "People might differ on whether this constitutes proselytizing, but it seems to me that it is part of the school program when they are giving out tickets (to a religious event). They've been given special access to those kids."
This is the problematic part of this article:
While the U.S. Constitution does not specifically create a separation between church and state, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment's so-called Establishment Clause as legal justification to keep religious matters out of public classrooms.
"so-called" Establishment Clause ??
By JANETTE NEUWAHL Staff Writer
. . . controversy surrounds the Fellowship of Christian Athletes that used in-school assemblies this week to hand out tickets to religious events.
Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee, said the Flagler County school district is blurring the separation of church and state in schools when they allow groups to entice students to religious events.
"They had a captive audience of kids in a public school and in that setting, the school is turning over the kids to this group for the message," he said. "People might differ on whether this constitutes proselytizing, but it seems to me that it is part of the school program when they are giving out tickets (to a religious event). They've been given special access to those kids."
This is the problematic part of this article:
While the U.S. Constitution does not specifically create a separation between church and state, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment's so-called Establishment Clause as legal justification to keep religious matters out of public classrooms.
"so-called" Establishment Clause ??