No Religious Gifts in Elementary School

Some parents attempt to use their children to proselytize their religion in schools. Their intention is to have as many children as possible converted to Christianity and following Jesus, even if that infringes upon the religious freedom of others. They don't care about other religions because those religions are evil - but the government is supposed to step in and make sure that children's religious rights are not infringed upon.

Julia Duin writes in The Washington Times about a Third Circuit Court decision which prevents parents from using their children to distribute religious gifts in public elementary schools:

The classroom is not a place for student advocacy, wrote Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Anthony J. Scirica, speaking for the court in Walz v. Egg Harbor Township Board of Education. The school, he said, has a "legitimate area of control" regarding speech within school confines.

In February 2002, U.S. District Court Judge Jerome B. Simandle, a federal judge based in Camden, N.J., sided with the school district, blaming the mother for being "the driving force behind the distribution of these items and this lawsuit." It was "highly unlikely," he wrote that then-4-year-old Daniel was "able to independently read and advocate the dissemination of the message on the pencils."

Joe Betley, the lawyer representing the Egg Harbor Township School District, also said the mother's influence was a problem. "The parents were using the classroom to proselytize," he said. "There is a difference between a kid's ability to understand the difference between what's endorsed by the school and what's allowed because the school is taking a neutral position.

I don't think that there can any question about whether the mother was using her child to try and convert other people's children - thus demonstrating extreme disrespect for other parents, other children, and other religions. I hate to say it, but I really pity how she will raise her children.

The larger issue is also important: classrooms are not place for proselytization. If a student wishes to communicate a religious message to classmates, then doing so outside the classroom should be fine. Doing in the class, however, can send the subtle sign that this religious message has the school's approval.

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Religion in Public Schools