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Atheist group tells Georgia high school football team to punt the prayers
foxnews.com ^ | August 12, 2014 | Joshua Rhett Miller

Posted on 08/13/2014 4:32:10 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012

A Georgia high school football program may have God on its side, but not the Constitution, according to critics who say prayer and proselytization have no place in the playbook.

Football coaches at Chestatee High School in Gainesville are accused of quoting scripture on team documents and pre-game banners and regularly leading the War Eagles in prayer in a religious blitz the American Humanist Association (AHA) declares unconstitutional.

“There’s really no defense for doing this,” AHA attorney Monica Miller told FoxNews.com. “It’s not even solely student prayer — it’s teachers and coaches praying with students. And we have reason to believe it’s not an isolated event.”

Miller, whose organization sent a letter Tuesday threatening to sue Hall County Schools, said a “concerned citizen” notified the national nonprofit group that the 1,200-student school in Gainesville, about 55 miles northeast of Atlanta, appeared to be doing an end run around the First Amendment. The letter demanded that coaches cut team-sanctioned prayers and remove all Bible verses and other religious messages from team documents and materials.

The group was particularly outraged that outgoing Head Coach Stan Luttrell joined players as they held hands and prayed.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Georgia
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To: RoadGumby
A dingo ate my baby.


41 posted on 08/13/2014 8:58:37 AM PDT by Lazamataz (First we beat the Soviet Union. Then we became them.)
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To: xzins

In the end everyone who is offended by prayer will someday stand before God and pray with all their heart for mercy.

I suspect at that point it will be God who will be offended.


42 posted on 08/13/2014 10:19:04 AM PDT by P-Marlowe (There can be no Victory without a fight and no battle without wounds)
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To: ilovesarah2012
A Georgia high school football program may have God on its side, but not the Constitution

which Constitution is that??

43 posted on 08/13/2014 10:23:03 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: bert

In school is takes one person to stop a prayer but 2,000 parents can’t get them to take sex toys and bondage out of the middle schools.....


44 posted on 08/13/2014 10:23:46 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: bert; a fool in paradise

OK, let us pretend there is a “separation of church and state”...

are these kids a state or a church?


45 posted on 08/13/2014 10:24:49 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: GeronL

By the current logic, The ACLU will argue it is the coach, not the kids, that is the state. The coach is a salaried employee of the state and is condoning, even worse participating, in the forbidden religious ritual of pregame prayer. Perhaps it could be argued that the kids are an organized forbidden prayer cell and thus the church.

It makes me wonder about islamic prayer in schools. Prayer is one of the five tenets of Islam. Ritual prayer is required several times per day. All activity must cease and the person must face Mecca and pray. How is this need met in public schools?

I visited Saudi Arabia several times and took a walk each evening to observe. At prayer time, all businesses closed. The Philippinos staffing the Domino’s Pizza shop all came out side and sat on the curb until it was over.

All businesses closed except can you guess...... the ATM’s. Those not quite so pious ran into the ATM and did some business. Robots can’t pray so I guess they are exempt.


46 posted on 08/13/2014 11:33:17 AM PDT by bert ((K.E.; N.P.; GOPc.;+12 ..... Obama is public enemy #1)
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To: bert

some schools set aside a room for Muslims to pray


47 posted on 08/13/2014 11:36:33 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: GeronL

Would that be a chapel?


48 posted on 08/13/2014 11:39:38 AM PDT by bert ((K.E.; N.P.; GOPc.;+12 ..... Obama is public enemy #1)
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To: bert

Would a Muslim call it a chapel?


49 posted on 08/13/2014 11:40:53 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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