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Senior Member
Gary schools sued over religious rights
GARY, Ind. A woman who pulled her 13-year-old son out of classes so he could attend a five-day religious festival is suing school officials for refusing to count those days as an excused absence.
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union sued the Tri-Creek School Corp. last month, arguing that the districts policy infringes on the right of Ruth Scheidts son to worship.
Both Scheidt and her son, who attends Lowell Middle School, are members of the United Church of God in Munster. The Christian-based faith does not celebrate Christmas or Easter, but instead observes a weeklong event called Festival of the Holy Days. Last fall, the mother and son attended the event, which ran from Sept. 29 to Oct. 7.
Although Scheidt had informed school officials her son would miss five days of classes, the school counted the missed days as unexcused absences.
Under Tri-Creeks policy, only illness, death of an immediate family member and certain court appearances are considered excused absences. The school does not accept planned absences, such as family vacations and trips, as excused absences.
Jacquelyn Bowie Suess, an attorney for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, said Scheidt wants the school to excuse her sons absences and allow him to make up any missed assignments. The lawsuit does not seek monetary damages.
The ICLU believes the policy violates the familys First and 14th Amendment rights by discriminating against the way it chooses to worship.
Rest of Story: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050613/NEWS01/50613014
Now the absurdity:
Jesus and the Statehouse
Many religions represented in House prayers
By Luke Messer
No doubt, Indiana is about to re-enter the national news. The Indiana Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Indiana Speaker of the House Brian Bosma for allowing prayer before each days legislative session. The ICLU argues that while prayer in the legislature is not necessarily inappropriate, since Bosma and House Republicans took over the Statehouse this year, the prayers have not reflected Indianas diverse religious communities.
Specifically, the ICLUs legal director, Ken Falk, argues that At least 26 prayers were clearly Christian. They were clearly praising Jesus, which is appropriate in your home or church, but its not appropriate for the state of Indiana to be doing from the floor of the General Assembly.
The ICLUs lawsuit is a dangerous attack on religious liberty, and Bosma has vowed to fight left-wing efforts to require removal of references to Jesus from prayers at the Statehouse. According to Bosma, The day the Indiana Civil Liberties Union dictates free speech on the floor of the Indiana House is the day that democracy begins to decline.
As Americans, we all understand the importance of religious tolerance. But the prayers given during this years legislative session were respectful of all faiths. A wide variety of religious leaders including ministers, pastors, priests, rabbis, ministers and an imam all led the House of Representatives in the prayer.
Rest of story: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/editorial/11882950.htm
GARY, Ind. A woman who pulled her 13-year-old son out of classes so he could attend a five-day religious festival is suing school officials for refusing to count those days as an excused absence.
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union sued the Tri-Creek School Corp. last month, arguing that the districts policy infringes on the right of Ruth Scheidts son to worship.
Both Scheidt and her son, who attends Lowell Middle School, are members of the United Church of God in Munster. The Christian-based faith does not celebrate Christmas or Easter, but instead observes a weeklong event called Festival of the Holy Days. Last fall, the mother and son attended the event, which ran from Sept. 29 to Oct. 7.
Although Scheidt had informed school officials her son would miss five days of classes, the school counted the missed days as unexcused absences.
Under Tri-Creeks policy, only illness, death of an immediate family member and certain court appearances are considered excused absences. The school does not accept planned absences, such as family vacations and trips, as excused absences.
Jacquelyn Bowie Suess, an attorney for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, said Scheidt wants the school to excuse her sons absences and allow him to make up any missed assignments. The lawsuit does not seek monetary damages.
The ICLU believes the policy violates the familys First and 14th Amendment rights by discriminating against the way it chooses to worship.
Rest of Story: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050613/NEWS01/50613014
Now the absurdity:
Jesus and the Statehouse
Many religions represented in House prayers
By Luke Messer
No doubt, Indiana is about to re-enter the national news. The Indiana Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Indiana Speaker of the House Brian Bosma for allowing prayer before each days legislative session. The ICLU argues that while prayer in the legislature is not necessarily inappropriate, since Bosma and House Republicans took over the Statehouse this year, the prayers have not reflected Indianas diverse religious communities.
Specifically, the ICLUs legal director, Ken Falk, argues that At least 26 prayers were clearly Christian. They were clearly praising Jesus, which is appropriate in your home or church, but its not appropriate for the state of Indiana to be doing from the floor of the General Assembly.
The ICLUs lawsuit is a dangerous attack on religious liberty, and Bosma has vowed to fight left-wing efforts to require removal of references to Jesus from prayers at the Statehouse. According to Bosma, The day the Indiana Civil Liberties Union dictates free speech on the floor of the Indiana House is the day that democracy begins to decline.
As Americans, we all understand the importance of religious tolerance. But the prayers given during this years legislative session were respectful of all faiths. A wide variety of religious leaders including ministers, pastors, priests, rabbis, ministers and an imam all led the House of Representatives in the prayer.
Rest of story: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/editorial/11882950.htm
