February 12, 2008God has blessed us with an amazing track record of victories. In fact, since our launch in 1994, ADF has won nearly three out of four cases preserving religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and marriage and the family. And yet, even in the face of consistent victory, we consistently tell of the need to remain diligent because the battle is far from over.
Why is that? A case in Michigan – that began in 2003 – provides the perfect answer.
You might remember Joel Curry, a fifth-grade student who simply wanted to participate in his classroom project, "Classroom City." This marketing project was designed to teach the students economics and citizenship, but Joel was subjected to a first-hand lesson on religious intolerance.
The project occurred around Christmas time, so Joel selected candy canes as his product for sale. Like any good marketer, Joel recognized the important of providing context and points of interest for his audience; therefore, he attached a small card explaining the religious symbolism of the candy cane. Amazingly, Joel's product was pulled from the "market" and he was unable to participate until he agreed to remove the card. It seems school officials feared the fictional "separation of church and state."
ADF filed a suit on Joel's behalf in 2004, and in 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice even wrote a friend-of-the-court brief in support of ADF's lawsuit against the school district. A federal judge in 2006 ruled that the principal had violated Joel's First Amendment rights, but the battle – again – was far from over.
The case was appealed and, in January of this year, a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit disagreed with the lower court's conclusion, ruling that religious speech by students is "offensive" and thus legitimately subject to censorship. In response, we have filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit asking the full court to review the case.
"Christian students shouldn't be penalized for expressing their beliefs," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeff Shafer.
"Joel's school project complied entirely with the standards and objectives of the assignment to which it responded. The principal's admitted targeting of Joel's speech simply because of its Christian message is an affront both to his convictions and his constitutional liberties. We hope that the full 6th Circuit will agree to review this case in order to confirm that students cannot be singled out for discrimination based simply on the religious viewpoint of their speech." A copy of the petition for rehearing en banc filed with the 6th Circuit in the case
Curry v. School District of the City of Saginaw can be read at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/CurryEnBancAppeal.pdf.
The ACLU and its allies are committed to their agenda, a country that no longer supports
Our First Liberty – religious freedom. If we are to preserve the America our Founding Fathers established, we must remain even more committed. We must continue to stand and defend religious freedom; together, we can win!