We read:
"A 16-year-old atheist said Thursday she is confident the law is on her side in her fight over a prayer mural that she wants removed from the auditorium of her high school. Jessica Ahlquist said her side is "very strong" after attorneys for her and the city of Cranston made their case to Senior Judge Ronald R. Lagueux in U.S. District Court in Providence. Ahlquist believes the mural should be taken down.
Ahlquist sued in federal court in April, saying the mural is offensive to non-Christians. Ahlquist has been an atheist since age 10. She is represented by the Rhode Island chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union.
Attorney Joseph Cavanagh Jr., who is defending the city, says the mural is a historical artifact from the school's early days in the 1960s and serves no religious purpose.
He said the prayer is displayed in a secular, not a religious, setting. "It's not forced upon anyone. It's a historical document as a tradition of the school," Cavanagh said.
The prayer encourages students to strive academically and begins with the words "Our Heavenly Father" and ends with "Amen."
The school committee voted in March to keep the mural on display and fight litigation.
Source
16 comments:
There is nothing in the First Amendment, which clearly protects that mural, that says you have a right not to be offended. There is also nothing in the First Amendment that says atheists have a right to force their anti-religious beliefs on others.
Apparently, atheists spend so much time looking for things which offend them, that they don't see how offensive they are to others.
If it is really meant to be only an historical "reference" rather than covert religiosity, there is nothing to complain about, but if there is doubt the question should be investigated.
1:24 AM's final paragraph can just as well be applied to religious people if not more so!
Im tired of these selfish self centred atheists jerks trying to force their poppycock on us There is absolutly nothing about the separation of church & state in the constitution
Anonymous 1:47,
The difference here is that the religious people you refer to don't go around suing every time someone says something offensive about their religion.
Yes, Christians to speak up when someone does something offensive like placing a cross in urine, but they don't go crying to the ACLU saying "Wahh, my feelings are hurt, make them stop!"
Freedom OF Religion means a school can display something like this mural as long as they do not force the students to acknowledge it as the only true belief, which they are not doing.
she was just raised by ignorant parents unfortunately. She will change I'm sure in the future.
So she thinks it's offensive. So what, live with it. If you don't like it, ignore it; just like I have to with ignorant a**h***S every day.
God hates liberals, liberals are usually liars..ie obama, reid, pelosi etc.
Just as bad as that stupid Mr Newdow who demands the country must abide by his self-cenetred atheism He tried to get IN GOD WE TRUST removed from our coins and currancy this time this arrogant part of the ME GENERATION lost
In having "IN GOD WE TRUST" on its very currency shows the USA is at least a closet theocracy, and as such ought to be more honest instead of pretending it's a secular pluralist republic.
Anon 1:47,..... add up the number of complaints made by atheists against religious groups, then compare it to the number of complaints made by religious groups against atheists. Feel free to let us know the outcome. (as if we don't already know the answer)
2:40 : As you state you already know the answer, do please enlighten us less well-informed readers - and of course indicate your impeccable sources (and how that was at all possible, given the universal scope of such a survey).
If "IN GOD WE TRUST" is on the US currency, then the Deity seems to have little faith in it!
God still hates conservatives, especially @12:21
Actually God hates sin.
So why does 'God' put up with "sin"? He's supposed to be omnipotent! So He must be like the Mafia with a "freedom of choice" offer that you can't refuse. Either vote for "God", or vote for his alter-ego aka "Satan". So much for 'choice' and 'free will'. Go figure!
Liberals dont want the ten comandments posted becuase they break them all
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