Certain state workers in Tennessee will no longer be subjected to unconstitutional religious endorsement in their state-mandated training after intervention from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
A Tennessee resident and child care provider contacted FFRF to report that the stateās required training and certification contained blatant religious promotion. Citizens were required to complete the Tennessee Child Care Online Training System entitled, āBuilding Strong Brains: Tennesseeās ACE initiative,ā that included religious statements, bible verses and a clear misunderstanding of basic scientific principles.
One of the lessons, with the title of āFrederickās Experiment,ā was provided by a religious organization called āDigma.ā Digma was created by Christian evangelist Ty Gibson. Gibson is the founder of a religious ministry called Light Bearers, which describes itself as a āfull-throttle gospel ministry, urgent to hasten the second coming of Christ, by spreading the good news of His saving grace, in the context of three angelsā messages, as fast and as far as possible with the talents and resources God gives us.ā
Given Gibsonās religious background and evangelical mission, it is not surprising that Digmaās lesson included blatant religious promotion. One lesson, after challenging evolution, concluded with:
āWe canāt help but ask the obvious question at some point: What is the something more that we so desperately long for? In two simple declarations, the Bible offers the answer:
āGod is loveā (1 John 4:16)
And āGod made mankind in His own imageā (Genesis 1:27).
Mystery solved!ā
It is well-established law that, as a government agency representing all citizens in the state of Tennessee, the Department of Human Services is prohibited from endorsing religion over nonreligion or Christianity over all other faiths.
āBy advocating for religious belief and promoting Christianity through mandatory state training for child care workers, DHS is impermissibly endorsing religion and violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment,ā FFRF Legal Fellow Chris Line wrote in his Jan. 23 letter to DHS Commissioner Danielle W. Barnes.
The Department of Human Servicesā legal counsel informed FFRF that the Frederickās Experiment portion of the training had been removed for containing materials that reference a religious doctrine.
FFRF commends the department for taking swift action to remove this religious messaging from the program, ensuring the constitutionally protected freedom of conscience of all citizens who are required to undergo this training.
āReligion is inherently divisive and completely unnecessary in a state-mandated child care training program,ā says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. āWe applaud the state for siding with the Constitution and the inclusivity of all its citizens.ā
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 31,000 members and several chapters across the country, including over 300 members and a chapter in Tennessee. FFRFās purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.