In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush is promoting a program named All Pro Dad which uses NFL athletes to promote a conservative Christian view of family, faith, and fatherhood. Central to the program is the idea that a strong family has a father which runs the household, where everyone prays and reads the Bible together, and where everyone relies on God.

The Palm Beach Post reports (via Pandagon):

Mulrennan Middle School in Valrico, east of Tampa, promotes All Pro Dad on its school marquee and in newsletters. The school also advertises the program on its radio and television stations, said assistant principal Matthew Diprima, who organizes the monthly meetings. "This is something the school supports, and this is something that's fostered by the school," Diprima said.

One of the marriage-saving lessons, written by All Pro Dad Director Bryan Davis, coaches men to pray with their wives. "God has joined you and your wife together. He is the Author of love and marital harmony. Deepening your relationship with Him is the key and foundation of a successful marriage. If you haven't cracked open a Bible in a while, start. Find I Corinthians 13 and give it a read. It's the perfect blueprint for your marriage," Davis advises.

A video introduction by Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, All Pro Dad's national spokesman, lays the groundwork for good parenting by establishing the father as the "head coach" of the family. "That's the biblical way it's set up. Mom and Dad directing the family together, with the dad being the head of the household," Dungy instructs participants. "Now that doesn't always happen... but that's the ideal way and the best way, and that's the way we're going to function the best."

But the group's president last week did not directly answer several questions about the Bible's role in the All Pro Dad resources. "Isn't that self-evident?" Merrill said. "A lot of the principles contained in the Old and New Testaments really are superior principles for raising children and for living."

I can't believe that government officials in Florida don't realize just how religious all of the above is. School officials in particular have to know that they have absolutely no business promoting and endorsing a program which is overtly and unabashedly religious. There is no way that schools can tell students that their parents should make the father the "coach" of the family because that's what the Bible says or that families should pray together.

There have, of course, been criticisms:

Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said Bush and the department's endorsement of the program is indicative of the governor's disregard for the state constitution, which prohibits spending state money, directly or indirectly, on religious programs.

"It may be a wonderful program, but a program that encourages Bible reading and strengthening your relationship with God is not the kind of program that should be sponsored by the public schools, nor should it be the kind of program that is organized and facilitated by the public schools," Simon said.

Simon also notes that this sort of thing keeps happening in Florida — from "vouchers, from faith-based initiatives, to the nation's first faith-based prisons," Jeb Bush has a "blind spot" when it comes to actually following the Constitution and remaining neutral in religious matters. Simon calls him "uncritical" when it comes to faith-based programs; I'd go farther and call him "unethical," because an ethical politician wouldn't go to such lengths on such a consistent basis to abuse his office and promote religion like this.

Read More:

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