The Freedom From Religion Foundation has ensured that Franklin County School District community members will no longer be subjected to Christian proselytization.
A concerned parent informed the state/church watchdog that a principal at Broadview Elementary School in Winchester, Tenn., concluded a parents, teachers and students meeting on Aug. 2 with Christian prayer. The complainant recorded audio of the prayer, which was addressed to the Christian god and which ended: “We pray to you father in heaven for your wonderful blessings and we ask those things in God’s name. Amen.”
FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Hirsh M. Joshi sent a complaint letter to Franklin County Schools Director Cary Holman noting that “government officials may not deliver an official, sectarian prayer to a captive audience.”
Students, their families and school staff all have the First Amendment right to be free from religious indoctrination when participating in school-sponsored events, FFRF emphasized. The district serves and employs a population with diverse religious beliefs, including Jews, Muslims, atheists and agnostics. A full 37 percent of the American population is non-Christian, including the almost 30 percent that is nonreligious. At least a third of Generation Z members (those born after 1996) have no religion, with one recent survey revealing that almost half of Gen Z qualifies as “Nones” (religiously unaffiliated).
The school district heard FFRF’s concerns — and worked to address them quickly.
“Based on the recording, the principal acknowledged it was her voice,” Holman wrote back in a recent email. “I had my deputy director participate in the meeting with the principal. During this time, I provided the Tennessee Code referencing prayer in schools. The principal understands what is expected and will lead accordingly moving forward.” Holman closed by promising that all officials in the district would be reminded of the law.
FFRF is glad to prod yet another school district into fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities.
“If you see something, say something,” adds Joshi. “Here, a principal used her authority to impose religious prayer on an audience that would be wise not to question her. That’s abuse of power. Thankfully, a community member was proactive enough to tell us.”
FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor is appreciative of the school district’s corrective action.
“School officials who wish to pray can do so on their own time and dime,” she says. “Schools exist to educate, not to indoctrinate in religion. So it’s important that school functions avoid divisive religion.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation serves as the nation’s largest association of freethinkers, with 40,000 members and several chapters across the country, including almost 500 members and a chapter in Tennessee, and works as a state/church watchdog to safeguard the constitutional principle of separation between state and church.
