Bloggasm

As an agnostic borderlining on atheism, I’m all for separation of church and state. But at the same time, I’m very open to freedom of speech and expression, and I’m especially wary of when Christian Right groups spread propaganda showing that the school system is trying to ban religion. Every now and then, you’ll read articles about teachers who will tell a student to stop praying, and although these are isolated incidents, Christian special interest groups jump all over them.

Recently, a judge ruled that a Christian Rock group couldn’t perform at a high school assembly:

A federal judge in Toledo has ruled in favor of a local school board that barred a Christian rock group from playing at a high school assembly.

The judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the band Pawn. He said if school officials in suburban Rossford had allowed the group to play at an anti-drug rally in December 2004, the district would have faced a “realistic danger” of appearing to endorse a particular religion.

This is silly for two reasons: First, by allowing a band to perform, you are not endorsing a religion at all. It’s simply artistic expression, just as a student leading a prayer group in the cafeteria during lunch is a form of expression. This is nothing like forcing a student to participate or sit through school-mandated prayer.

Secondly, this is sure to enrage a lot of Christians and give them ammo to breach other separation of church and state issues. Every single time something like this happens, the incident is reported on multiple Christian websites and newsletters, and it all leads to one incorrect notion: That the secular left is trying to suppress religious expression

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