I have to believe that most school officials these days know that they aren't allowed to distribute Bibles to children in classrooms. And I know that Gideons is aware of this, helped numerous counties across the country get themselves into trouble over the years. So, why does this still happen? Are they hoping nobody will notice? Or worse yet, are they hoping no parents will have the nerve to complain and sign on to a lawsuit?
Well, people noticed, and parents have nerve, in White County Tennessee, where the county has agreed halt the Gideons' distribution of Bibles in the classroom, in a deal worked out with ACLU of Tennessee. Here's the Tennessean:
The Gideons came into the classroom, and students were invited up to get a Bible if they wanted one. A student said she didn’t want to take one but felt pressured to do so. Her mother later complained to school officials and then to the ACLU, according to a statement from the civil liberties group.
Gideons has been involved in so many of these complaints, why can't they help school district avoid such blatant violations of church-state law? Could there be an arrangement more alienating than to have children walk up one by one, with all eyes watching, to see who gets a Bible and who doesn't? As an act of good will within the community, why not develop a more respectful, legal way to distribute Scripture in a neighborhood? A way that doesn't exploit children while they are away from their parents, and that doesn't utilize public institutions to promote religion?
