Tag Archives: education
Atheist and ACLU Defeated! Illinois’ Moment of Silence Law Upheld
The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand an Illinois law requiring the observance of a moment of silence in Illinois public schools. The High Court declined to hear an appeal of a federal appeals court decision that upheld the law. Last year the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
The Illinois statute is titled the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act, but is known as the “Moment of Silence” law. It requires that each school day begin with a brief time for “silent prayer or silent …
The Friendly Atheist: Poor Role Model for Teens
Naperville/Aurora’s Neuqua Valley High School math teacher, Hemant Mehta (aka “The Friendly Atheist”), weighs in on a California Court decision in his usual uncivil, disreputable way.
Bradley Johnson, a California public school teacher, has had a large banner hanging in his classroom for seventeen years on which appear the following phrases:
- “In God We Trust”: the official motto of theUnited Statesand a phrase that appears on American currency
- “One Nation Under God”: a phrase from our Pledge of Allegiance
- “God BlessAmerica” and “God Shed His Grace On Thee” (from “Americathe Beautiful”): phrases from two songs that are part of
