Below is a copy of the letter that the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) sent yesterday to the Superintendent of the Lebanon, Missouri School District, as well as to all members of the Lebanon School Board. The author, FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott, lays out on pages 2 and 3 the legal case (and the precedents) for Principal Lowery’s speech constituting a violation of the First Amendment.

Oh, and I’m delighted to be cited in a footnote with reference to Kim Light’s misguided accusation that I wrote my post using the resources and time that should be devoted to my day job. I bet Mr. Light is having second thoughts about that.

I am not a legal expert (I just report possible legal violations to those who are experts), but my guess is that the Lebanon School Board will cave on this issue, and perhaps even apologize for Principal Lowery’s speech. If they don’t, and given the presence of someone with standing (the “local complainant”) as a possible plaintiff, they’ll face expensive litigation, which they’ll lose, and then have to pay substantial court costs.  They should really consult their lawyers.

Oh, and all those people who wrote me about what the Constitution really says on the Principal’s speech: read the letter above and then lick your wounds.

I must add here that Hemant “The Friendly Atheist” Mehta now owes me drinks, unless he wants to contest the case law cited by Elliott.

Finally, I’d urge people who approve of interventions like the above to join the Freedom From Religion Foundation (full disclosure: I am on the honorary board), which is, to my mind, the most activist and effective secular organization in the U.S. You can join here, and it’s only a paltry $40 a year. For that you get—besides the satisfaction of knowing that your money actually works for secularism instead of enabling a bunch of keyboard warriors—an awesome and meaty monthly newspaper that details the organization’s activities, cases, and also gives a lot of amusing quotes from religious people, as well as a selection of the FFRFs own hate mail, which is far nastier than mine.

In the last day or so, I’ve been inundated with outraged mails and phone calls from people in Lebanon Missouri, upset because I criticized their high-school principal for preaching about God at the graduation ceremony. Their ire was fueled by some comments I made on the local radio station, as well as a piece in the conservative website The Blaze, and another in The Raw Story. Sadly, both of those stories couched this issue as religion versus atheism rather than as the church/state issue that it is. (The comments on the former story, however, are full of LOLz from goddies and ignoramuses, while those on the latter story are both more literate and more favorable to a separation of Church and State.)

In contrast, I’ve received only two favorable emails, both from people who were at the graduation ceremony and were equally outraged that they were captive to prayers. For those I am grateful.

From all of this, I’ve concluded a few things:

• Many citizens of Lebanon either don’t understand the First Amendment of the Constitution, the way it’s been interpreted by the courts, or they think that it  somehow guarantees their right to pray in public schools. They are wrong, as we’ll see in the next post on this issue, which will reproduce the letter that the Freedom from Religion Foundation wrote to the Lebanon School Board. The law is clear on this point: Principal Lowery violated the First Amendment. And that’s not just from the Constitution itself: it’s from how it’s been consistently interpreted by the courts. (BTW, Hemant Mehta, the Cowardly Atheist who Refuses to Bet, owes me a round of drinks.)

• Many citizens of Lebanon interpret this church/state issue as simply a case of religion versus atheism.

• Many citizens of Lebanon are simply rude, writing me unsolicited emails, or calling my office, to give me a piece of their mind. One (see below) even said that what I wanted was a good dose of Jesus.  How Christian of these folks! But what it shows is how touchy Americans are about this issue, and what a hard row we have to hoe in keeping up the wall of separation between church and state. No battle on this issue is too small.

At any rate, read and weep. I am leaving in names but omitting email addresses. This is only a sample of what I received.

*****

1. This phone message was left yesterday afternoon.

“This is Dr. Randy Dingham [name not clear] calling from Missouri. We support the Lebanon High School principal, and we ask Chicago elitists like yourself to leave us Missouri folks alone. If you have enough guts,you can call me back at [number redacted].  Get off our case; we still believe in God. We’re not intimidated by atheist professors who condemn free speech. Good day; GOD BLESS.”

I don’t condemn free speech; I condemn religious speech that is unconstitutionally forced upon a captive public-school audience. And Dr. Dingham, I don’t give a rat’s patootie about your opinion. Read the Constitution and its interpretation.

*****

2. An email from Jeff McGraw, whose ignorance of Constitutional law is breathtaking. What makes these people think that they have the proper interpretation of the First Amendment?

Dear Jerry Coyne,

You are incorrect to apply a violation of the First Amendment to Principal Kevin Lowery.

I would hope that you are a man of moral character, and would offer an apology to Principal Lowery.

The First Amendment to the US Constitution states:  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

First of all, Principal Lowery is protected by this amendment to the free exercise of religion.  He is protected also in that he can present his speech unabridged.  That means he can say what he wishes.

You might say he represents the government, and therefore it is a violation.  That is also incorrect.  We are all individuals first, and he is not passing laws to affect your beliefs in any way. [JAC: This is not even wrong!]

I am certain you will agree after reading the Bill of Rights or the first ten Amendments, that they were established to protect the rights of the individual from government.

You also stated that “God” is not in the US Constitution.  Perhaps not, but neither is the “separation of Church and State.”

God, the Creator, morality, providence or whatever you choose to call Him has always been an integral part of the United States of America, ever since its founding.

[He then gives four quotes from “Founding fathers” espousing deism; they’re too long to append here.]

Sincerely,
Jeff McGraw
[email address redacted]

All I can say to this guy is: take it to court! McGraw will be eating his words when the Lebanon School Board caves on this issue, as I’m confident it will.

*****

3. From Shannon Brown:

I want to thank you for making Mr Lowery’s speech so publicized. I thought he done a remarkable job and it makes us Christians feel so much better to know even if its criticized by you, that we are still getting Gods word out there. So again thank you and remember God’s not dead!!

Shannon Brown
Graduate of Lebanon High School

Does Ms. Brown realize that maybe atheists, Hindus, Muslims, or Jews wouldn’t feel “so much better” about Lowery’s speech? Clearly her school has failed to teach civics properly (I won’t mention writing skills).

*****

I’d like to know where you see a 1st Amendment violation in his speech. The simple expression of one’s own religion or personal beliefs is in no way a violation. If he told/forced everyone in attendance to recite The Lord’s Prayer or some other religious/denominational recitation… then you might have a point. But, the mistake the “freedom from religion” crowd makes in the basic understanding of the Constitution is in thinking it mandated freedom FROM religion, when it did no such thing. It mandated the protection OF religion and religious expression as well as the absence thereof. It did not prohibit – nor mean to prohibit — the free expression of religion in public life.

5. And the prize for rambling defense of superstition goes to Colleen Punt. The email is too long to reproduce in its entirety, so I’ve given excerpts:

Jerry Allen Coyne:

I’d like to congratulate Principal Kevin Lowery of Lebanon High School for having the guts to stand up and do what is right….honor God at the graduation ceremony.  He is a man of courage and conviction, a man that stands tall in todays world.

Mr. Coyne as we remove God from all aspects of our lives the lower a nation sinks…it is God that kept the USA strong.  If ever we needed God it is NOW….we need Jesus He is our only hope.  As you remove God, satan steps in to fill in the gap…that is exactly what is happening today.  You don’t want God you will get the devil….thats who is ruling the roost today.  Are things moving along for the better under the devil?  Are our lives improving?  Is there more employment for the citizens?  I think not.

. . . Mr Coyne we have geoengineering of our weather…they say it is to stop global warming…which is the big lie…that way they can spray us like lab rats….they blatantly deny this is happening.  Their evil project is killing all life on planet earth…our oceans are dying and all life in it…90% of our oxygen comes from the ocean…our bees are dying, it has been said that the human race can’t survive more than 4 years with no bees….we won’t have any honey, or anything to eat.

Mr Coyne this is just a little bit of the evil that is being inflicted on us today, thanks to satan who rules today….I guess I should thank you and your kind for the devastation that is happening….when I listened to Principal Lowery speak I didn’t hear boos from the audience…I heard cheers….were you there sitting in the crowd?  Your agenda kills, it is destroying life on planet earth…if God bothers you so much get a pair of ear plugs…..stop taking our rights away from us…mind your own business….go sit with the god haters, call on your god the devil to come to your aid….I beg your pardon…you never have to call on the devil….he doesn’t need an invite….he’ll be their sitting on your shoulder whispering in your ear….Look around , take a look at what is happening to our world, our country…and how bad things are really getting….

. . . I would like to ask you…What gives you the right to take my right to believe in Him away?  What gives to the right to remove the only stabilizing force we have, our salvation, our anchor, our shield?  He came to give us His life He died a horrible painful death to forgive us, and most importantly to give us His life…..and you spit in His face…what a pathetic man you are….to be pitied….the bible tells us…the fool has said in his heart, there is no God….it also says every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord….either we will bow before Him now, or we will bow when we cross over….one way or another we will bow.  You can continue in your arrogant state….or you can come to your senses….your choice….your move….

. . . I know there is a God….I was wrapped in His presence for days…there is nothing that can compare…..we have an amazing God that loves us so much…His love is eternal…not like anything from this earth….a love that is Supernatural….there is nothing to big or to small for Him….He spoke and the world…the universe leapt into existence….He speaks and it happens….and you being the brilliant man you are want to deny His existence…….you are some smart cookie aren’t you?  Like the bible says…The fool has said in his heart…..there is no God….

So Mr. Coyne if your feeling a little bit proud for your stand to beat up on the Principal of Lebanon High, do what you can to destroy him….I want you to know you don’t have my support….I stand along side of Principal Kevin Lowery even though I have never met the man….there is a bond between Christians….we are brothers and sisters in our Lord…we have the same Father…We are family….you can never take that from us….we know where we will be for eternity……Do you know where you will be for eternity?  There was a video I watched some time back….a young woman that at the age of 15 had shot herself, she actually died and went to hell….she said she it was so hot, unbearably hot…..everyone was moaning, and saying why am I here….she said it felt like Sulfuric acid was being poured on her.  What I don’t understand is…..if this is true wouldn’t anyone with a lick of sense check it out?  instead of denying it has any credence…. [JAC: I’d like to see that video of the woman who went to Hell!]

Oh well I’ve said my piece…..I’m going to pray for you…you need Jesus, even though you think you don’t….He has already forgiven you….He did that at the cross….it doesn’t matter what you have done….His forgiveness is soooo big…..He loves you…if you were the only person on the face of the planet, He would have died just for you….He is waiting with His arms stretch out to you….all Jerry Coyne has to is acknowledge, accept what He did and who He is…call Him Lord and you will be His child…when we stand before Him we will be without excuse.  What will you say when your looking Him in the eye?

You have my email address if you want to defend yourself……now that I’ve got your blood boiling…..

Why on earth would I want to defend myself against a crazy, god-soaked missive that discredits itself? My blood, in fact, isn’t boiling at all. Rather, I’m shaking my head and feeling sorry for the rational people that live in the Crock Pot of God that is Lebanon, Missouri.

Finally, I should add that one Jon Colt (whom I believe is this man, and who wrote using his business email of copofoods.com) has written to the president and provost of my university, as well as my chairman, complaining that I’m bringing negative publicity to the university, and using his “tax dollars” to fund “phony outrage” and to “tear down other individuals or institutions” to make me feel better about myself. Colt apparently didn’t see my email to Kim Light saying that no University resources were used to do my posts, nor do I speak for my university (that’s point #1 in the Roolz).

The humorous thing is that this is a private university, so I’m not paid by Colt’s tax dollars. What’s even more hilarious is that Colt also sent the email to the president, provost, and “ethics officer” of the University of Illinois at Chicago, a public university that has nothing to do with me! The poor guy is deeply confused.

The Blaze is a conservative website that is very popular. Or so I was told by a man from the radio station in Lebanon, Missouri, who interviewed me about my objection to Principal Lowery’s goddy remarks at the Lebanon High School graduation. Doing my day job, I’m unaware of much of this fracas, but I’ve been receiving hate mail all day from the good citizens of Lebanon, and got a really nasty phone call in my office about an hour ago. Never have I received such vituperative from non-readers over an issue, and that includes the Hedin case at Ball State. The faithful simply must have their public prayer, and they must excoriate those who object.

At any rate, The Blaze has the LoweryGate story at the very top of its page, and here’s the screenshot (there are four headlines, with each story obtained by clicking a dot at the upper right). If you click it you’ll go to the story:

It’s strange, you know—people really wonder why some “carpetbagger” like me should care about this kind of stuff. Well, an erosion of Constitutional rights in one place affects us all, for we’re really on a slippery slope that leads to theocracy, and our only pitons are constant defenses of the Constitution.  In his interview, the radio guy, playing the devil’s advocate, asked me why I cared about what happens in Lebanon. I responded by asking him, “Well, why should you care if a black person is denied the right to vote in Mississippi?”

After reporting Lowery’s remarks and showing the video of his speech, The Blaze adds this:

Lowery’s comments, though, attracted a response from Jerry Coyne, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago, who wrote that they constitute a First Amendment violation.

He complained to Lowery, the school board, the local superintendent and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a church-state separatist group.

But Hemant Mehta, an atheist blogger, had a different take, saying that while the comments were inappropriate, he’s not sure they posed an illegal constitutional violation.

A voice message and email seeking comment from Lowery have not been returned to TheBlaze.

I beg to differ with Hemant: I think the remarks were a blatant intrusion of religion into a public school ceremony. When the principal said, after the bogus “moment of silence,” that he prayed to God, he was imposing his views on a captive audience. And that’s a Constitutional violation.

I’ll bet Hemant $100 that the school will back down when it receives the inevitable legal warnings. If he’s right, and it’s not a constitutional violation, the school might stand its ground. How about it, Mr. Friendly Atheist? Are you on?

I see there are 146 comments at the bottom of The Blaze post, and the radio guy warned me that some of them aren’t pretty, but I have a book to write. Maybe I’ll have a look tomorrow. It should be amusing.

____

p.s. If you don’t know what my title refers to, go here.

Yesterday I posted a video of Kevin Lowery, the principal of Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Missouri, offering a prayer and a defense of our country’s religious foundations at his school’s graduation. That was clearly open defiance of our government’s ban on public schools endorsing religion. I also posted a list of publicly available email addresses for principal Lowery, the school board members for Lebanon, and the school superintendent, as well as an email I wrote all of them protesting the intrusion of religious beliefs into the public-school ceremony.

One of these members, Mr. Kim Light, has responded, and with an unusual level of defiance and snark.  I reproduce his email here along with his email address, since that was also listed on the Lebanon  page of school-board members cited in my earlier post. Notice that Light’s response was copied to the other members of the school board, the school superintendent, and the principal—the same people who received my email. I’ve put the text of his email in bold below:

From: Kim Light klight@heritagebankozarks.com

CC: “dwidhalm@lebanon.k12.mo.us” dwidhalm@lebanon.k12.mo.us, “john@carmeco.com” john@carmeco.com, “keldridge@central-bank.net” keldridge@central-bank.net, “sheadley@midmobank.com” sheadley@midmobank.com, “jeremiah.hough@independentstavecompany.com” jeremiah.hough@independentstavecompany.com, “bob@oneiloneil.com” bob@oneiloneil.com, “jsriggs@webound.com” jsriggs@webound.com, “klowery@lebanon.k12.mo.us” klowery@lebanon.k12.mo.us

My question is whether or not this is funded and/or supported by the University of Chicago and is this YouTube viewing conducted using university resources and conducted during time that could be used for instructional or research time.

Sent from my iPhone

I have emailed a response to Mr. Light, copying it to all concerned:

Dear Mr. Light:

Thank you for your response—or rather, your non-response—to my complaint and inquiry about Principal Lowery’s remarks at the Lebanon High School graduation.

I see that you are not only avoiding the issue, but being sarcastic: raising the possibility that I am using the resources of the University of Chicago (which is, by the way, a private school, unlike Lebanon High), as well as the time I am supposed to devote to my job, to complain about the intrusion of religion into the Lebanon School District. Let me assure you that my website post, the YouTube video, and the posting on my website about the school’s behavior, were all done on my private time and on my private website on Saturday morning. None of my university’s resources, nor the time I devote to my job here, were diverted to what I wrote, nor, of course, does anything I said reflect the official positions of the University of Chicago.

Now that I’ve answered your question, perhaps you can answer mine: was the principal’s speech vetted and approved by the Lebanon School Board? And what is being done to prevent further Constitutional violations in the future?

I have posted my complaint, as well as the YouTube video, on my website, which gets between 20,000 and 30,000 views per day. My original post is here: http://whyevolutionistrue.com/2014/05/31/public-high-school-principal-prays-at-graduation/. I will also post your email response so readers can see the kind of insouciance and disdain you bring to this serious issue.

Please note that I am not the only one upset at Principal Lowery’s decision to drag religion into the graduation ceremony. If you look at the comments on my post, you’ll see that Mr. Lowery’s oration also offended a graduating senior of your school as well as her parent, who has complained to both the American Civil Liberties Union and the Freedom from Religion Foundation about Lowery’s remarks. As a person with legal standing, the parent of course can be party to a legal complaint against the principal, the superintendent, and your school board. Here is what the parent wrote on my site:

“I was an audience member at this event, and my graduating daughter was very offended and upset by this. I’ve already contacted the ACLU about this. Thank you for your blog post.

. . . I was pretty enraged about the whole event. The strong audience cheers are only going to further ostracize the students who don’t share his belief. It is inappropriate and rude to shame students at their own graduation ceremony for being different–intentional or not.”

I don’t think you’re aware of the serious issues involved here. Instead of writing a snarky email in response to my complaint, you should be pondering how to prevent future violations of the Constitution in your school district. You should also be aware that, given the complaints to the FFRF and ACLU, it is likely that legal proceedings are in the offing, and that your dismissive behavior will not help matters.

I sincerely hope that other members of the school board, the Superintendent of Schools, and Principal Lowery do not see my email in the same dismissive light that you did. Such recalcitrant behavior will, in the long run, only harm your school district.

I am sending your response (and this response from me) to the other members of the Board, and to the superintendent and principal; and will post them both on my website. It is instructive to see this kind of behavior from a member of a public school board, someone supposedly responsible for making sure that students are properly educated for the responsibilities of citizenship.

Sincerely,
Jerry Coyne

*****

I wondered who Mr. Light was, and found that he is President and Senior Credit Officer of Heritage Bank of the Ozarks. Here is his photo from that page (I always like to see what opponents look like):

The announcement of his appointment at the bank , and a bit about his background, can be seen in the August, 25, 2011 issue of the Lebanon Daily Record.

In the U.S., many school classrooms, particularly those harboring younger kids, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, an official government “creed,” every morning. (I did this for many years.) You’re supposed to stand, face the flag, and put your hand over your heart, and say the words in the box below.

The pledge has gone through a lot of changes, including the addition of the word “God” in 1954 to distinguish our proudly religious nation from the Godless Communists during the Cold War.  Here, from Wikipedia, are its various incarnations:

Two series of court rulings have established some ground rules. First, no child can be forced to recite the Pledge, or stand and salute the flag. (That’s the only good thing the Jehovah’s Witnesses ever did.) Second, the words “under God” have been repeatedly affirmed to be Constitutional, though of course they’re not. And now the highest court in Massachusetts has buttressed the latter stand, ruling that the use of “under God” does not constitute discrimination against atheists.

As CBS Boston reports:

The highest court in Massachusetts ruled Friday that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools does not discriminate against atheists.

The Supreme Judicial Court said the words “under God” in the pledge reflect a patriotic practice, not a religious one.

“We hold that the recitation of the pledge, which is entirely voluntary, violates neither the Constitution nor the statute,” Chief Justice Roderick Ireland wrote, later adding “it is not a litmus test for defining who is or is not patriotic.”

“Although the words “under God” undeniably have a religious tinge, courts that have considered the history of the pledge and the presence of those words have consistently concluded that the pledge, notwithstanding its reference to God, is a fundamentally patriotic exercise, not a religious one.”

An atheist family from Acton sued in 2010 claiming that the daily recitation of the pledge in classrooms violated their three children’s constitutional rights.

The family, who are not identified in the suit, claimed the ruling insinuates that nonbelievers are less patriotic.

You can see the court’s ruling here.  I’m not sure about the lower-court’s ruling about the insinuation of nonpatriotism (the family had appealed), but that certainly was the case when I was a kid. Anybody who refused to stand and recite the Pledge would, at least in my classes, have been completely ostracized. But now that the right to not recite the pledge is protected by the courts, the real reason “God” should go is because it violates the First Amendment, just as the words “In God We Trust” do on our currency. (That was added in 1957, and every year at its annual meeting, the Freedom from Religion Foundation auctions off “clean money”: godless bills made before 1957.) I certainly don’t trust in God!

Of course now that courts are repeatedly affirming that the invocation of God in public forums isn’t really religion, but merely a “historical tradition,” there’s not a prayer of getting this stuff out of the Pledge or off the currency. The long-term plan of the religious Right, now supported by the Supreme Court, is to establish Christianity as a de facto official religion of the U.S. We have to fight this whenever we see it, even if the issue is as small as a cross on a courthouse lawn.  For if anything is a slippery slope, it’s the creeping incursion of religion into American public life.

h/t: Matt

I dreaded this decision but didn’t have a lot of hope for any other result: the Supreme Court just allowed the town of Greece, in upstate New York, to begin its council meeting with a prayer. The rationale: “it’s traditional.”  The vote was the usual 5-4, and, if you know your Court, you can guess with 100% accuracy who voted on each side.

This just happened this morning, but the New York Times reports:

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a town in upstate New York may begin its public meetings with a prayer from a “chaplain of the month.”

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority in the 5-to-4 decision, said “ceremonial prayer is but a recognition that, since this nation was founded and until the present day, many Americans deem that their own existence must be understood by precepts far beyond that authority of government to alter or define.”

In dissent, Justice Elena Kagan said the town’s practices could not be reconciled “with the First Amendment’s promise that every citizen, irrespective of her religion, owns an equal share of her government.”

Town officials said that members of all faiths, and atheists, were welcome to give the opening prayer. In practice, the federal appeals court in New York said, almost all of the chaplains were Christian.

The pervasive Christianity of those prayers was the reason why the appeals court overruled the city of Greece, but the Supreme Court then overruled the appeals court.

The appeals court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, agreed that the 1983 decision [a ruling that the Nebraska legislature could open its sessions with prayers] did not govern the case before it.

“A substantial majority of the prayers in the record contained uniquely Christian language,” Judge Guido Calabresi wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel of the court. “Roughly two-thirds contained references to ‘Jesus Christ,’ ‘Jesus,’ ‘Your Son’ or the ‘Holy Spirit.’”

Welcome to the theocracy! All I can suggest now is that atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Pastafarians, and Satanists flood the legislature with prayers. Of course, that won’t happen because the prayers are almost always offered by either members of the elected body or their official chaplains.

This Supreme Court has done more to obstruct progress in this country than even the Senate and House. And of course members like Alito and Roberts were chosen for just that purpose.

When I think about how thin the evidence for a god is—much less the Christian God—and how often its existence is nevertheless rammed down our throats by the faithful, I am sickened. It’s not a good day today.