The Freedom From Religion Foundation has helped remove a wrong note from the Davidson (N.C.) County Schools system after the district hosted a religious concert.
A concerned district parent reported that on March 11, 3 Heath Brothers, a Christian boy band, performed for all K-5 students at Hasty Elementary School for a school-sponsored assembly. FFRF learned that the performance was composed of nine songs, such as “Dream Small,” which made numerous mentions of God and Jesus, including telling people to “let Jesus use you where you are,” and “Good Good Life,” which includes the explicitly religious lyrics, “Loving God and loving people, that’s what it’s all about.”
Additionally, 3 Heath Brothers distributed a Keys for Kids devotional pamphlet at the assembly. Keys for Kids is a youth ministry organization that exists “to ignite a passion for Christ in kids, teens, and families worldwide.” The pamphlet included explicitly religious stories referencing bible verses, such as instructing students not to take revenge because “that’s not what Jesus wants you to do.” Instead, they were told that they must “give your burden to Jesus, and trust Him to help you respond to that person with His love.”
Reportedly, parents received no notice of the religious assembly.
“The district cannot allow nonschool persons to treat schools as a recruiting ground for their religious mission,” FFRF Staff Attorney Madeline Ziegler wrote to the district. “Public schools are not an appropriate place for outside adults to convince students to convert to Christianity.”
FFRF pointed out that it is unconstitutional to take away instructional time from students to expose them to religious proselytizing. Hasty Elementary School crossed the constitutional line and violated the First Amendment rights of students by inviting a Christian band to perform for students and hand out devotional pamphlets during the school day. This religious assembly was particularly coercive given that students are a captive audience, and elementary students are particularly young. Hosting a mandatory religious assembly during the school day excludes and marginalizes students who are a part of the 49 percent of Generation Z that is religiously unaffiliated.
Thankfully, the district leadership was in tune with FFRF.
In his response letter, Superintendent Gregg Slate stated that the Heath Brothers promoted the assembly to the school as an anti-bullying event, claiming that the district administration was caught off guard when the content actually delivered did not match the materials describing the event.
“The distribution of religious literature is against our school board policy and legal precedent and our staff has been certainly reminded of this restriction,” Slate replied. “Please understand that at no time did the district attempt to communicate a message that religion or a particular religious belief is favored or preferred.”
Slate concluded by informing FFRF that the district’s legal counsel has provided guidance to the board of education on the sharing of religious content and that the principal of Hasty Elementary reached out to the Heath Brothers, requesting that the group remove a Facebook video of the event.
FFRF is grateful that the North Carolina school district took steps to ensure an event like this cannot happen again, and is encouraged that the district leadership is committed to the constitutional separation of state and church.
“We appreciate that the Davidson County Schools system listened to reason and will uphold state and federal constitutional principles,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor says. “Religious concerts should not be imposed on our public schools with their captive audience of students.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 42,000 members and several chapters nationwide, including more than 1,000 members and a chapter in North Carolina. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
May 15, 2025
