Once again school administrators blatantly violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment try to sweep it all under the rug by silencing those that have concerns about it. I mean, why should prayer in school or Bible quotes on the chalkboard bother anyone? It's not like you're being forced to believe in them or go to church or anything! So long as no one complains or calls attention to the fact that these things are not strictly legal it's all fine, it's all good, we're just expressing the majority opinion anyway. Well fuck that.
Krystal Myers, a high school student at Lenoir City High School in Tennessee, attempted to do just that by writing an opinion piece in the school newspaper about the discrimination and unequal rights of atheists compared to Christians in her school. The administrators shut her down of course, not allowing her to publish the piece saying they wanted to avoid the "potential for disruption".
But this is the internet, and it is time that these people realize that it takes a hell of a lot more to sweep something under the rug nowadays. If they had just shut up about it and let it be published, a few students would have read it and no one in the country would have ever heard about it. Now, her piece has reached more people than it ever would have before, bringing Lenoir City High School under scrutiny.
So thank you, school administrators, for helping Krystal Myers in her efforts to shine a light on the problems with the separation of church and state that you have in your school. Of course thank you PZ for getting your hands on a copy of her piece and posting it for all of us. I would also like to repost it here.
No Rights: The Life of an Atheist
By Krystal Myers
The point of view expressed in this article does not necessarily reflect the point of view of the Panther Press, its staff, adviser, or school.
As a current student in Government, I have realized that I feel that my rights as an Atheist are severely limited and unjust when compared to other students who are Christians. Not only are there multiple clubs featuring the Christian faith, but youth ministers are also allowed to come onto school campus and hand candy and other food out to Christians and their friends. However, I feel like if an Atheist did that, people would not be happy about it. This may not be true, but due to pervasive negative feelings towards Atheists in the school, I feel that it would be the case. My question is, “Why? Why does Atheism have such a bad reputation?” And an even better question, “Why do Christians have special rights not allowed to non-believers?”
Before I even begin, I just want to clear up some misconceptions about Atheism. No, we do not worship the “devil.” We do not believe in God, so we also do not believe in Satan. And we may be “godless” but that does not mean that we are without morals. I know, personally, I strive to be the best person I can be, even without religion. In fact, I have been a better person since I have rejected religion. And perhaps the most important misconception is that we want to convert everyone into Atheists and that we hate Christians. For the most part, we just want to be respected for who we are and not be judged.
Now you should know exactly what an Atheist is. Dictionary.com says that an Atheist is, “a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.” However, this does not mean that Atheists do not believe in higher causes; we just do not believe in a higher being.
With that being said, I can move on to the real issue. Before I begin, I want you to think about your rights and how your perceived “rights” might be affecting the rights of others.
There are several instances where my rights as a non-believer, and the rights of anyone other than a Christian, have been violated. These instances inspired me to investigate the laws concerning the separation of church and state, and I learned some interesting things. However, first, I would like you to know specifically what my grievances are against the school. First and foremost is the sectarian prayer that occurs at graduation every year. Fortunately, I am not the first one to have thought that this was a problem. In the Supreme Court case, Lee v. Weisman, it was decided that allowing prayer at graduation is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment that says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Special speakers can pray, but the school cannot endorse the prayer or plan for it to happen.
Public prayer also occurs at all of the home football games using the public address system. This has, again, been covered by the Supreme Court case Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe. The Court ruled that school-sponsored prayer is an unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. If a speaker prays, it is fine. However, as soon as the school provides sponsorship, it becomes illegal. Sponsorship can be almost anything, even something as simple as saying that the speaker can pray or choosing a speaker with a known propensity to pray or share his or her religious views.
However, it is not just the speakers who we have to fear at Lenoir City High School. We also have to fear some of the teachers and what they might say about their own religious beliefs. On at least two separate occasions, teachers have made their religious preferences known to basically the whole school.
One teacher has made her religious preferences known by wearing t-shirt depicting the crucifix while performing her duties as a public employee. Also, Kristi Brackett, a senior at Lenoir City High School, has said that the teacher, “strongly encouraged us to join [a religious club] and be on the group’s leadership team.” Yet again, this violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. When asked if this was true, the teacher replied, “As a teacher I would never use my power of influence to force my beliefs or the beliefs of [a religious club] on any student in the school.” Regardless, the religious t-shirts are still inappropriate in the school setting. Teachers are prohibited from making their religious preferences known; the Constitution requires them to be neutral when acting in their capacity as a public school teacher.
Not only are religious preferences shown through shirts, but also through a “Quote of the Day” that some teachers write on the boards in their classrooms. One teacher has Bible verses occasionally as the teacher’s “Quote of the Day” for students. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment has been violated, yet again with no regard for non-believers.
But perhaps I would have more hope in our school and the possibility of change on the horizon if our own school board did not open their meetings with prayer. A person who wished to remain anonymous that has been present at school board meetings says, “They do have prayers. They pray to ‘Our Heavenly Father’ and end with ‘In Jesus’ Name We Pray.’” Not only is this a violation of Supreme Court law, but also a violation of the board’s own policy that prohibits prayer at school-sponsored events. The whole foundation of how our school is conducted is established by obvious Christians. Somehow, this is unsurprising. If our School Board chooses to ignore the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and the Supreme Court, then it is no surprise that teachers choose to do the same.
I know that I will keep trying to gain my rights as an Atheist and as an American citizen, but I also need your help in educating other people to realize the injustice done to all minority groups. The Christian faith cannot rule the United States. It is unconstitutional. Religion and government are supposed to be separate. If we let this slide, what other amendments to the Constitution will be ignored? I leave you to decide what you will or will not do, but just remember that non-believers are not what you originally thought we were; we are human beings just like you.
Hmm. So [Christian] "youth ministers are also allowed to come onto school campus and hand candy and other food out to Christians and their friends". However, Krystal Myers "feels like if an Atheist did that, people would not be happy about it".
ReplyDeleteHold the presses! Krystal Myers has a feeling! Atheist youth ministers would probably have to check their candy in at the school gates! Atheist kids don't get candy! Atheists have no rights!
Of course there's more than candy involved here, I can see that. For instance, 'One teacher has Bible verses *OCCASIONALLY* (my emphasis) as the teacher’s “Quote of the Day” for students. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment has been violated, yet again with no regard for non-believers.'
That is so even if the majority of the Quotes of the Day come from and are aimed at non-believers. Anything secular is fine, but there is one book that must NEVER EVER be quoted in schools, because to do so would violate the rights of the non-believers.
Again, "If a speaker prays, it is fine. However, as soon as the school provides sponsorship, it becomes illegal. Sponsorship can be almost anything, even something as simple as saying that the speaker can pray or choosing a speaker with a known propensity to pray or share his or her religious views."
- In other words, a known Christian (or Muslim, or anyone with a known religious affiliation) must NEVER be invited to speak, because to do so would violate the Establishment clause, and infringe the right of the atheists to live in their atheist bubble. Only those who are - or who can plausibly be assumed to be - atheist can be invited to speak. Others might occasionally sneak through, but they'll only ever get the one opportunity, and if they make the most of it then they'll be roundly denounced. Nevertheless it is the atheists, and only the atheists, who have no rights.
This piece was apparently excluded from the school newspaper, but have you considered the possibility that this happened because it wasn't up to scratch? It's an apparently badly written piece, strongly making a case which is the exact opposite of the one it purports to make (I say "apparently" because it may actually be a brilliantly written piece. Krystal Myers may be sending up atheists in much the same way that Stephen Colbert sends up right-wingers). How many other articles (some of them, I dare say, even written by Christians), have been rejected by the same school paper without their authors kicking up a fuss, and without those articles being endlessly posted and reposted on the internet?
The Streisand effect is indeed powerful, but don't you suppose that most effective self-publicists are well aware of that, and happy to take advantage of it? It's powerful because of intended consequences, not because of unintended consequences.
But even though this "banned" article has appeared on many tens of thousands of sites, including many Christian blogs, and nobody so far as I can see has made a move to remove it from any of them, still atheists have no rights.