The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is being asked to reconsider, as a whole panel, a ruling of three of its justices that summarily rejected a challenge to an Islamic indoctrination course in the California public schools. The lawsuit challenging the Islam course was filed by the Thomas More Law Center against the Byron Union School District to stop the "Islam simulation" materials and methods used in the Excelsior Elementary School in Byron, California.
As I've argued before, I believe that the Ninth Circuit's ruling represents a golden opportunity for those who believe that the public schools should not be required to be strangely silent on the entire subject of Christianity.
What goes for teaching Islam in school has to apply as well to Christianity. As the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed in Van Orden v. Perry, 125 S.Ct. 2854 (2005), the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution requires religious neutrality. In other words, the Ninth Circuit has, intentionally or not, approved teaching about Christianity in public schools.
So now that courts have approved of teaching Islam (and even witchcraft, I kid you not), it's about time that the schools begin teaching about the religion that is actually practiced by over 75% of Americans. Christianity is the religion on which much of American culture and history is founded. Students who know nothing about Christianity are truly ignorant.
In a related positive development, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has reportedly ruled against the ACLU in a Ten Commandments case on December 21st, holding that the Constitution does not require a "wall" between church and state and upholding a display of the Ten Commandments on government property:
"A federal appeals court has upheld a display of the Ten Commandments alongside other historical documents in the Mercer County, Ky., courthouse.
"The judge who wrote the opinion blasted the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the display, in language that echoed the type of criticism often directed at the organization.
"Judge Richard Suhrheinrich's ruling said the ACLU brought "tiresome" arguments about the "wall of separation" between church and state, and it said the organization does not represent a "reasonable person."
"The decision was issued by a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati. It upheld a lower-court decision that allowed Mercer County to continue displaying the Ten Commandments along with the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner" and other documents."
Captain's Quarter's asks the right question in discussing the Sixth Circuit case: "Does the Establishment Clause guarantee a public square scrubbed of any religious mention whatsoever, or will the newly constituted [U.S. supreme] court actually rule from the text itself and discover that it just prohibits the government establishment of a single official religion?"
It's time to end the "gag order" on any teaching about Christianity in public schools.
Related Post: Now That Schools Can Teach Islam, They Can Teach Christianity Too.
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