Dear Friends & Supporters, The following press release from the national office of Americans United for Separation of Church and State concerns a rally held by the Christian Coalition to gain support for Rep. Ernest Istook's so-called "Religious Freedom Amendment." At the rally and in press releases the CC has cited incidences where people's religious freedom have supposedly been unfairly restricted. AU did some research into these incidences and discoverd that Reed and Co. are being downright dishonest with the facts. Please read the release and then pass it on to any distribution lists you may have. It is very important we do all we can do expose this intentional deception by the CC. If you have any media contacts they should also be alerted. Thanks! Skip Evans, President Americans United for Separation of Church and State Atlana Chapter FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joseph Conn May 22, 1997 Rob Boston CHRISTIAN COALITION RELIES ON BOGUS 'HORROR STORIES' TO PROMOTE SCHOOL PRAYER AMENDMENT, CHARGES AMERICANS UNITED CHURCH-STATE WATCHDOG GROUP'S RESEARCH UNDERCUTS COALITION CLAIMS Washington, D.C. Are thousands of Christian children and adults undergoing daily persecution by public school employees and other government officials? Ralph Reed and the Christian Coalition claim they are, and the group is seeking a constitutional amendment rewriting the church-state language of the Bill of Rights. But a new study shows the "horror stories" Reed and company rely on often turn out to be grossly distorted or years old, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "Our First Amendment religious freedom rights are precious," said Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn. "We must not allow Congress to tamper with them on the basis of tall tales spread by a TV preacher's front man." The Christian Coalition is sponsoring a "Religious Freedom Rally" and press conference at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Thursday, May 22 to promote Rep. Ernest J. Istook's so-called "Religious Freedom Amendment." The event will feature three public school students and others who claim their religious rights have been violated. In a May, 1997, fund-raising letter, Reed claimed passage of the Istook amendment "would mean an end to the daily stories in the newspapers about kids being punished for standing up for God. And while it is sad, but true, that these events really happen...they, and thousands of other stories just like them, underscore the fundamental need for the Religious Freedom Amendment." But an analysis by Americans United unveils serious flaws in all three public school stories scheduled at the Christian Coalition rally, with crucial facts omitted to advance the Coalition's agenda. The Americans United analysis also indicates that, despite Reed's claim that there are "thousands" of religious liberty violations and they occur daily, the three public school cases spotlighted by the Christian Coalition are six, seven and eight years old respectively. "If religious liberty violations are occurring daily, why is Ralph Reed showcasing three incidents that are ancient? Why does he use the same three or four examples over and over?" asked AU's Lynn. "When you check the facts, Reed's 'thousands' of religious liberty violations simply vanish." Continued Lynn, "The American people deserve to know the truth about religion in public schools, but they won't hear it from Ralph Reed or his boss, TV preacher Pat Robertson. The truth is students are free to engage in a remarkable array of private religious expression during their free time. In the rare instances where a public school official has made a mistake about a student's religious rights, the problems can be corrected by a simple phone call or letter." AMERICANS UNITED ANALYSIS OF ALLEGED "RELIGIOUS LIBERTY VIOLATIONS" CITED BY THE CHRISTIAN COALITION During its May 22 "Religious Freedom Rally" on Capitol Hill, the Christian Coalition plans to feature three young women who allege that their religious freedom rights were violated in public schools. Americans United for Separation of Church and State has analyzed all three cases and found that the Coalition has omitted crucial facts in each case. Americans United also notes that the three public school cases are quite old. The most recent goes back to 1991 and the oldest to 1989. Yet the Coalition routinely insists that public school students' religious liberty rights are violated every day. Here is a summary of AU's findings: Kelly DeNooyer: In December of 1990, DeNooyer's parents sued officials at McKinley Elementary School in Livonia, Mich., after her teacher refused to allow DeNooyer, then a second grader, to show a tape of herself singing a religious song. DeNooyer had been selected "VIP of the Week" under a classroom program designed to boost student confidence by giving them the opportunity to make verbal presentations about themselves. The teacher rejected the tape for several reasons. She said showing a tape would undermine the point of the exercise, which was to make students feel comfortable giving speeches. She also said the school has a policy requiring that all tapes be reviewed before being used in class. Lastly, she felt its religious content was inappropriate. The parents sued in federal court and lost. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that public school teachers and administrators, not students, are the proper agents to determine classroom content and assignments. On April 18, 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision. (DeNooyer v. Merinelli) Brittney Settle Gossett: Settle (now out of school and married) sued the Dickson County, Tenn., School Board after she was given a failing grade on a report about Jesus Christ in 1991. Teacher Dana Ramsey had assigned each student in her ninth-grade class to write a research paper on an unfamiliar topic based on four outside sources. Settle initially told the teacher she would do her paper on drama. She later changed her mind and said she wanted to do it on the life of Christ. Ramsey rejected the new topic, saying Settle knew too much about it. Settle wrote the paper anyway and received a zero, not for writing about Jesus but for ignoring the teacher's instructions. Two federal courts examined the facts and ruled in favor of the school; the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals noted that Settle had no constitutional right to "do something other than [the teacher's] assignment and receive credit for it." In November, 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision. (Settle v. Dickson County School Board) Audrey Pearson: Pearson's mother contacted the Rutherford Institute, a conservative legal group, after her daughter was told to stop reading a Bible on a public school bus in Prince William County, Va., in 1989. The principal had not understood that students are permitted to bring religious material to school for their personal use and her decision was quickly reversed once contacted by the Institute. The matter never went to court, and the incident is now eight years old. NOTE TO REPORTERS: In several Christian Coalition press announcements about the May 22 events, a fourth "victim" was scheduled to appear, an ex-police officer who says his religious rights were violated on the job. But apparently the facts were so indefensible, even Reed couldn't put them forward. An accurate summary follows: Brad Hicks: A former police officer in Newton, N.C., Hicks was fired in April of 1996 after he disobeyed orders from the police chief to stop handing out gospel tracts while on duty. Chief Jim McMasters said Hicks had been warned about the activities and refused to stop. McMasters acted after a woman who had been pulled over for speeding complained about Hicks' activities. Hicks was first placed on suspension and told he could keep his job if he stopped proselytizing while on duty. He refused. "You cannot stop someone on the road as a police officer and proceed to give them a church sermon," McMasters told the Kinston Free Press. "The Constitution doesn't allow that, and we can't allow that. He refused to stop talking about religion, so I had no choice but to terminate him. I respect his religious convictions, but I also have to protect citizens from people who are violating their civil and constitutional rights." ----------------------------------------------------- Contact in the Atlanta Area: Skip Evans, President Americans United for Separation of Church and State Atlanta Chapter 404-607-0660 PO Box 79174 Atlanta GA 30357-7174 National office: Joseph Conn, Rob Boston Americans United for Separation of Church and State 1816 Jefferson Place NW Washington DC 20036 1-202-466-3234 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Americans United for Separation of Church and State Atlanta Chapter PO Box 79174 Atlanta GA 30357-7174 404-607-0660 tallulah@mindspring.com http://www.mindspring.com/~tallulah/au/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------