Posted on 12/21/2004 6:51:54 PM PST by Coleus
The New Jersey school district that banned Christmas music, even by instrumental groups, from its holiday concerts has been hit with a lawsuit claiming officials have demonstrated hostility toward religion.
Thomas More Law Center filed a federal lawsuit Friday on behalf of Michael Stratechuk and his two children, who are students in the South Orange/Maplewood School District. According to a statement from Thomas More, the suit claims the district's action is unconstitutional.
As WorldNetDaily reported, this year the district expanded its no-Christmas music policy to include instrumental music. Instead of tunes about Jesus, and even Santa Claus, the 40-member Columbia High School brass ensemble will be limited for the first time to seasonal selections such as "Winter Wonderland" and "Frosty the Snowman." The group's holiday concert is scheduled for tomorrow night.
"This is another example of the anti-Christmas, anti-religion policy infecting our public-school system," said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the law center, in a statement. "The Constitution does not require our public schools to become religion-free zones. Forcing students to strip all religious content from music is like asking them to study art history while excluding paintings from the Renaissance because they contain religious subjects."
The civil-rights lawsuit argues that the school district's total ban on religious music conveys the "impermissible, government-sponsored message of disapproval of and hostility toward religion." The lawsuit further argues that because the religious music is banned from the public schools, students are denied the ability to learn about and listen to music that has influenced the social, cultural and historic development of civilization.
Last week, WND reported that Bogota, N.J., Mayor Steve Lonegan, a Republican candidate for governor, has organized what he calls an "illegal" night of caroling tomorrow before the Columbia High School concert to draw attention to the school district's ban. Lonegan has invited his rivals to join him outside the school to sing songs that were deleted from the concert's program.
Go get em!!!!!
I don't live too far from Maplewood. Where can I show up with my pitchfork and torch?
Show up with a cross. That'll really scare them.
Woo Hoo!
Taking NJ back little step by little step!!!!
This kind of thing has been going on in the northeastern states for years. When I was in school in the 1980s, the local district first required a 50/50 musical program (half Christmas, half Hannukah.) When they continued to get complaints from atheists and other religions, they then dropped all "religious" music, and started to draw a distinction between "religious" Christmas music (anything that referenced Christ or Jesus, like "Silent Night") and "non-religious" Christmas music like "Frosty the Snowman" or "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."
Maplewood is hardly the first district to this parade of secularism.
Bravo!
Time the secular elite tasted the ACLU's medicine, eh?
Take 'em apart, folks!
Ping ping ping
Ping ping ping
ping Ping ping, pa ping
(that was jingle bells ping style)
When every vote counts for raising school taxes, these
bureaucrats have no stomach for saying ''NO''.
Every one of these decisions has to do with not offending
anyone...has actually offends a vast majority.
If your school board can't stand up for all voter's rights
they can't stand up to anything.
But, like most sheeple, the New Jersey voters will keep them
in office because they don't care.
What a sorry state of affairs.
How can you protest Christmas?
I don't protest the other Jewish or Muslim religious holidays. You can't Jesus out of Christmas to please them and not offend them when we ban all of their festivities as well.
Leave things alone and let he who wishes to celebrate celebrate and he who wishes to cause problems to go home where he came from.............
This is not stated to be mean, It should no more offensive to someone if they don't participate in our celebration as it does me by not participating in theirs.
Our nation was founded on these principles and I will defend these rights.
Once again Steve Lonegan shows he is with us true believers instead of that phony Schundler. Bret has been MIA on guns, abortion and freedom of religion. Lonegan will have all the gun and pro-life endoresements come the primary. He is the "real deal".
Bogota Mayor STEVE LONEGAN is on Scarborough Country now talking about his leading Maplewood in Christmas carols. He was the only NJ candidate for governor there.
LOL. See, it works.
liberals aren't concerned about offending Christians. To them, Christians are a non-entity to be pushed aside with contempt.
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Don't give them any ideas.
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What part of "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" don't they understand?