Lawsuit Filed Against Spartanburg District 7 for Religious Elective Course That Offers Credit
Lawsuit Filed Against Spartanburg District 7 for...
Lawsuit Filed Against Spartanburg District 7 for Religious Elective Course That Offers CreditShould public high school students receive credit for religious classes taken off-campus? A lawsuit filed against Spartanburg School District 7 says it’s unconstitutional.
District 7 parent Bob Moss says he has no problem with students taking advantage of a 1954 Supreme Court ruling which allows students to attend religious education classes. It’s the fact that they are receiving credit for it. Moss says, “The whole family got together and we realized not only was that unconstitutional, but that it wrong and insensitive.“
The lawsuit was filed by Charlotte attorney George Daly on behalf of Moss, fellow district parent Ellen Tillett and the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation. Daly says, “We think it violates the first amendment to the United States constitution which, which prohibits the establishment of religion. That’s colloquially known as the requirement of separation of church and state.“
In 2006 the South Carolina legislature said elective credit could be given for released time classes in South Carolina, as long as evaluations are based on secular criteria and don’t involve public funds. Moss alleges the district doesn’t monitor the content of the class which is offered at Saint Christopher’s Episcopal Church, next to Spartanburg High School. “Clearly they are trying to get around things to do that,“ says Moss.
People we spoke to near Hillcrest Mall support the idea of students receiving credit. Sandra Hawkins says, “I think it’s wonderful, and I think they should have the option on campus also, because without God, we have nothing.“ Polly Chitwood told News Channel 7, “I think taking God out of the schools is ridiculous. I think as a Christian, God should be in everything that we do.“
Moss, who is a college biology professor, says he is speaking as educator and a parent. “Because there is something wrong in the education system, it’s really important to me to do whatever I can to fix it.“ His attorney says this case should set a precedent, “That a religious education course of this type cannot be given academic credit.“ He says the ultimate goal is not to stop offering the course, just the credit that is being given for it.
To find out more about what’s being taught in the class, News Channel 7 tried to contact Spartanburg County Bible Education in School Time which offers it, but their voice mail message said they were out of town and unavailable.
Meanwhile, Spartanburg District 7’s Erika Shoolbred, Director of Information Services, released this statement just after 5 p.m. Thursday:
“Statement Regarding Religious Release Time Lawsuit
Release time religious programs are not new to school districts in South Carolina. Religious release time programs have been approved by the federal courts in the form of the U.S. Supreme Court [see Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952)] and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals [see Smith v. Smith (523 F.2d 121 (1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1073 (1976)]; the SC General Assembly (see S.C. Code Section 59-39-112); and the SC Attorney General (see January 29, 2007 opinion letter to Sen. Mike Fair). Spartanburg School District Seven developed a board policy prior to implementation of providing elective credit for religious release time courses. Our implementation of the program was precisely in accordance with the state statutes and regulations and with our board policy, which is the same board policy in widespread use in South Carolina. Consequently, we anticipate that there will be support for the program from the State of South Carolina and all corners of the public education field.
“The program has been in existence in Spartanburg District Seven since 2007. While there may have been dialog and discussion in 2007, we have had no contact and no complaints from anyone regarding the program. I am disappointed that these litigants chose to pursue litigation in these circumstances rather than to first seek discourse and understanding on the matter. We continue to welcome anyone with questions about the religious release time program and the criteria used to determine whether credit will be awarded to contact the school district to speak with someone about their concerns.”
– Dr. Thomas White, Superintendent.
Regarding specifics of the lawsuit, we have notified the proper legal and other pertinent parties regarding that matter. Until so advised by legal counsel, we will not comment on specific issues related to the lawsuit.“
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We checked to see what other schools are offering similar courses. Spartanburg District One says it has a release time course at Landrum High School for an elective credit. Cherokee County Schools tell us they have an off campus program, but gives no credit for it. Spartanburg District Six does offer the courses off-campus, but tell us they are taken through Oakbrook Preparatory and then the credit is transferred to District Six.
Spartanburg Herald Journal’s Article: Spartanburg District 7 Sued Over Religious Education Course
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Au Contraire Mon Frere; The pointis well taken and recieved but I would as well ague giving elective credit to Mother Goose or any other nonsensical idiocy. Inventing divinity to avoid the reality of our mortality and the denial of accepting the fact that the human race is no more than a species co-existing with many others on this planet has created a fantastic web of self deceit that has turned around not to bite but ravage .
Our imagination has comparatively taken us to great heights with no limits in the foreseeable future. This same imagination has carried us into the depths of depravity. The linear declinations between the two extremes are uncountable and still growing. When or if these declinations will cease is also debatable and moot for countless arguments. My own posit is that for so long as mankind exists, as we know it, the evolutionary process of the specie will continue. In which direction of the two extremes is the question of concern. A brief examination in retrospection and reflection certainly offers a case for concern. If history is any teacher then awareness becomes a necessity and vigilance paramount.
If we consider our planet’s history and that of our specie a very great many of our problems not only collectively but individually can be attributed to the influences of religion brought on by imagination. I see no reason to vilify or demonize imagination for it’s a fantastic vehicle by which civilization has prospered and may be more invaluable than the human thumb. To curtail our fantasy would be to impede our very development. But as we progress, (and hopefully forward), along those imaginary declination mile markers, it becomes necessary to make adjustments as we recognize our mistakes again both as individuals and collectively as a species. As this written discussion pertains primarily to the collective society as we know it, then I’m prepared to state most emphatically that the invention of religion was and is a mistake. Simply put, the cons far outweigh the pros. Somewhere along the line we got lost and began to accept fantasy for reality. Perhaps at one time the benefits of accepting myth triggered a propensity for the specie evolutionary factors to favor groups that collectively organized in a coherence of beliefs that provided natural selection an advantage. Thus through some form of cultural evolution memes were generated and passed along accordingly. I leave that to Dawkins, Erlich, and a host of others far more qualified than I to comment.
What I have that no other shares are my personal experiences, evaluations, experimentations and the conclusions gathered through my personal sense awareness. I propose that most sane, reasonable and thinking people will have to agree to some extent with the knowledge they gain and disseminate likewise. One needn’t be an authority of any given subject to qualify their own opinion. And, in truth, if one might detach oneself even partially from the bias and influences these carnivals emit, their essences might be regarded in the foulness of their existence. If it were a deception or some fraud only from which we might escape, the circumstances might not warrant such a fervor but the delusions that ferment such rancor and unsheathed animosity, disregard, and indifference have now positioned us in fear of our very continuation as a race and even as a fertile planet for all the specie of our familiarity and those yet undiscovered. One has merely to look about objectively and not that far away to add credulity to these statements.
Within the borders of our own nation the competitive and combative nature of all religions raises its fanged countenance in a variety disciplines that foment both divisiveness and dissention. Frustrated clergy commit sex crimes with a great many not being brought into the limelight for fear of a national uprising and so the media is hushed by the association of church and state. If you doubt this feel free to contact a few organizations such as The Freedom From Religion Foundation for further verification. They can supply anyone with a plethora of criminal activities committed by zealots as well as in the name of whatever religion. Certainly everyone is aware of the impediment of sound medical science by the ignorance of superstition. Children die for lack of medical treatment at the mercy of some religion that condemns blood transfusions or some other concocted representation of sky fairy fiction. Even the most ignorant members of today’s society are aware of the theological hindering of stem cell research. Former President Reagan’s wife Nancy can give you first hand information on Alzheimer’s. Take the time to check into the diabetes program for some eye opening information. The whackos of all right wing evangelical fundamentalists claim a cell too small for the naked eye to see in a Petri dish contains some immortal element that is some divine gift to humanity from some man-god in the sky so this cell must be venerated as a holy representation of this same man-god. Not only is this quite a thick wad to swallow but we’re all supposed to take this on faith that’s been handed down and re-arranged so many times the very originators wouldn’t recognize it. If there were a “Jesus” and he was alive today, he wouldn’t recognize Christianity. Another group of these barbarians arrange marriages between children and grown men right here in this country to appease their pedophilia and a representative of the religion of which this group is a sect runs for election as President of our nation. He only backed out shortly before a child farm/mill was raided in Texas. Has anyone else put two and two together here? Now the time quickly approaches when all those who believe regardless of their past transgressions, (and while still alive), are going to be caught up into the sky taking part in the rapture and revelation of some saint who obviously ate some moldy rye bread or a peyote button. The dead who were believers will be brought back to life to join them for this hallelujah sock hop on streets of gold after passing muster and a credential scan at the pearly gates. Upon entry they may be given a green flying carpet, turban, and 72 virgins especially if they’ve blown up believers from another sect including themselves at their departure. Many of these nuts make up the majority of this country! Remember that this is in the USA. We haven’t gone to the Middle East, the continents of Africa, or South America etc. Let’s not forget Haiti and assorted Pacific Islands. As a matter of fact we can globe trot around and uncover all sorts of depravity and mumbo-jumbo. Well…Perhaps it should be uncovered and eradicated as in replaced by reason and logic before one of these idiots pushes some red button.
Momintum
I believe you missed the point of all of this. This lawsuit is unfair and unjust whether or not you believe in Christ. Elective credit means just that, I have a choice in whether or not I choose (elect) to take the course. In response to the remainder of your post, personally, I don’t believe a secular society with our system could sustain for very long without ‘religion’ as you refer to it. I believe we need God. You make mention of maybe it being in our DNA, well….you said it, not me…I belive that God created us to worship Him, the Bible tells us that…I guess He did the injecting….I am sorry if you have had negative experiences with ‘religious’ people. Alas, we are human as you are, given to the same sinful nature, again, the Bible tells us that as well. I believe most folks don’t like believing in God simply because they cannot fathom that He would provide only one way to Heaven. I believe He did it to make it simple, but I do know that He did it out of love. But some just miss the boat, and that is terrible. I will be in prayer for you. And I still think that this suit is unconstitutional. I have as much as right as the next person to ELECT to take an ELECTIVE. Simply, if the district removes credit from one elective, regardless of the class content, they should remove credit from all electives. This is the only fair solution to this issue.
Religions have cast an adverse net over humanity for millennia and the jury is no longer out on the basic issue as the verdict has become crystal clear to society excepting those still chained to the walls of superstition. The very word “religions” can be said to pertain to divisiveness and as civilization wakes from the sky-fairy dreams of charlatans and charmers a new and complete overhaul of earlier as well as contemporary thought becomes necessary for humanity to progress.
“Hope” is a wonderful concept but placing the value of its meaning on some fictional icon or object of worship is delusional not to mention damaging and dangerous on a much grander scale than affecting just those attending some local church or mosque. This is becoming more and more obvious as the world observes its social and cultural environments more closely. Though the ignorant postulates of this or that god, creed, or theology rant on the attributes of their particular views, the facts remain that in this it becomes quite evident that theirs is a combatant position. Any examination by intelligent investigation will uncover the myths surrounding these imaginary concepts.
But I also have some questions that have not been answered to my satisfaction…In our day and age, with all the empirical evidences that have been brought to light; how be it still possible for entire nations to be enslaved by these theocratic ideologies? By what means can any group of zealots regardless of their own self-delusions maintain such a sway and influence the reason of so many? How do such far fetched and ridiculous schemes gain such credence while at the same time other stories much less fantastic are deemed as science fiction or fantasy?
I’ve personally witnessed Corporate America use religious conviction to forward its own agenda. The “fattening of wallets” by these unscrupulous characters is no secret and has been exposed to everyone other than the thickest of humanity. One merely does as one “need” and forgiveness is but a prayer away. Belief has replaced morality and virtue. The participants involved with various theologies themselves in power mad schemes aimed at manipulation and coercion are not always aware of their own goals as many are deceived by their own bait and thus lured into various webs of their own manufacture. I find it sad to witness the gullibility and self deceptions played on believers by their own fantasies. It’s almost like a flame that attracts the moth with the flame being an invention of the victim. At times I think some have subconsciously realized their own deceptions, self deception and have pushed a kind of self destruct button. Others continue blindly following their antediluvian mysteries paying homage to long dead and dying concepts and myths in a macabre ritual refusing to acknowledge the obvious, preferring to maintain their antiquated and outmoded systems to change when change is manifested so blatantly visible and entirely simple.
Were it not only dangerous but detrimental for humanity in general, perhaps I could find the patience to ignore these various and sundry postulates and proselytizers allowing time itself to erase these fallacies by natural evolution. Yet, when I see and realize through my own studies, evaluations and experimentations the clearly vile and reprehensible acts and condition these religions have brought to humanity I can no longer remain silent. This plethora of belief systems is responsible for a very great deal of the many ills that afflict mankind both individually and collectively. For example: When I see a child’s suffering and demise due to some nonsense based on an over active imagination to the point of creating an adverse system of posits that refute sound medical principle I’m more than appalled. When I become aware of people who are suffering from diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s and understanding that great strides to alleviate these conditions are hindered, suppressed, and even halted due to some fabricated interpretation of some imaginary man-god or spirit or talisman, book, or scarecrow I marvel. That the human race can be captivated and controlled by such ignorance as sexual and racial prejudices not only condoned but promoted by religion is not only frightening but travels much deeper into thoughts beyond my ability of expression.
Credence has somehow been bestowed perversely on a mere few in comparison to the number of acolytes who stumble along obediently struggling to follow the teachings of this same few who’ve concocted these regimens. It seems in these scenarios that these “leaders” simply take the time to read and memorize a certain set of “isms” and then by attesting to the profundity and in most cases altering the original arrangements in such a manner to promote their own agendas create their own concepts accordingly. At the same time, there seems to be any number of recipients who are quite willing to accept these concepts naively and without question or challenge. It suggests of an emotional whirlpool of enormous scope that’s void of reason and logic. Does this eddy of innocence remain unaccountable relying on the excuse of ignorance? Is absolution of the personal conscience derived from the, “I am/was just a soldier following orders” philosophy and response? “This is the way I was taught.” or, “This was the way I was raised to believe.” can only take one so far but somewhere the “buck” stops, or does it? Is there a quirk in the human psyche that will allow responsibility to be caromed about as if contained in some infinite pinball machine gone mad?
I enthusiastically take note that the United States is gradually moving in a direction that’s reducing the influence religions play in the political arena for example but at the same time take note that the supporters of religion seem to grow more militant in their charges. The numbers attest that Americans are seeing an expanding percentage of “nonbelievers.” A very large portion of Europeans by comparison have shed the confines of religious addiction. Orientals experience a far better form of philosophy that much better advertises itself in a more passive term than that of a “true” religion in the strictest sense of that description. The Middle East remains another story as the fires of Islam have never been tempered by an “Enlightenment” and remains the youngest of the major religions. Conceived in this cesspool of sand, the constituents remain trapped in an ignorant society funded by the abundance of fossil fuel that lines the pockets of the most volatile and violent Theocracies on earth. It is quite evident that the majority of these people remain closer to the savage as evolution knows no firm and even expression of order. A reversal toward barbarism is not an unheard of occurrence in the history of humanity and is certainly not ruled out even in today’s cultures. If one observes closely and examines carefully it will be of no surprise that the majority of these, “reversals” are triggered by or has their roots connected to some religious mythology. Even in the religions that appear to have evolved somewhat, the cauldron of hate resides just under or behind a veneer of smiles. If one strips away their veils of superficial tolerance and exposes what lies beneath, the ugly truth of their camouflage becomes apparent and once again they’re exposed for the terrorists they are and the terror they export.
Rationalizing religion is nothing more than a band-aid over hypocrisy. An inability to confront the obvious is washed over in an attempt to pacify the more adamant zealots of any given theology. Most everyone is familiar with that old but true adage, “People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.” Without a great deal of effort in recall the truth of this axiom has been experienced by most of us. Those who do ask about a differing opinion in most cases are merely searching for a point of contention. A brief conversation with any of these exposes their combatant nature as their rehearsed rebuttals and challenges are voiced in a kind of repetitive rote. These efforts can’t be rationalized to the thinking brain anymore than a willfully and deliberate negative choice can be attributed to an “accident.”
It must also become evident that unless some unforeseeable and cataclysmic event takes place, religions will be with us in some varying degrees for quite some time. Perhaps in the short history of man some cultural meme has been injected into our DNA creating these conditions. I certainly don’t have all the answers or even a few. It’s probable that I haven’t addressed your own particular view. None of this has been my intent. There is no way for myself or anyone to address the entirety of humanity’s consciousness. My efforts have been directed at exposing only a few considerations for contemplations.
Momintum
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) was established in a country founded on the principle of freedom of religious expression and they do not seem to know the difference between the Constitution’s Establishment Clause and what Thomas Jefferson wrote about in a letter about the “separation of church and state.”
Who understood the Constitution better: the FFRF or Thomas Jefferson who, deist or not, attended Christian church services in the Capitol Building?
This is yet another publicity stunt by the FFRF who lives for this sort of controversy/attention.
This post makes it pretty clear:
http://atheismisdead.blogspot.com/2009/01/dan-barker-and-michael-newdows-school.html
I agree with the fact that this is an ELECTIVE. It is by chose that the students that want to take this can and the ones that don’t, do not have to. It should be there like any other ELECTIVE class. And yes, i would hope and encourage my own children to take this ELECTIVE class and pray that it is still offered once my children get in high school. I think it is Great!!God Bless!!
If it is an elective, then treat it as such. In the district I teach in, here in Florida, we have Old Testament history taught as an elective through the history department. It is high school. Students choose electives all the time. Teach it as AP and let them get college credit.
Dr. Robert Moss
Ms. Ellen Tillett (Librarian)
Dr. Doug Rayner (Ellen’s Husband)
All 3 employed by Wofford are deciding that District 7 should have to spend money to defend in court things that have been lawfully done. Dr. Moss could no longer proceed with the lawsuit because HIS daughter has graduated. These are people from the outside using a Wisconsin organization and a Charlotte Lawyer to knock down a program that the community here in Spartanburg is perfectly happy with. That is a real shame. These two Wofford Biology professors and this librarian need to find something better to do than run Elective programs into the ground that are NONE of their business.
Elective ~ that is the operative word here. The freedom here is the freedom to choose or not to choose. Elective credits give a student an opportunity to further their education with some emphasis in things that they enjoy. As downtrodden as our schools have become the past 10 years, why would anyone with any common sense approach a suit like this? Let’s spend more time behind our educators and politicians to clean up and improve schools, and we should be thankful that we have children that wish to seek God within our public schools, of their OWN right to choose. If you take elective credit away from this course, then you need to remove ALL elective credit ~ this would include those athletes that take the extra PE class for weightlifting, all languages that are not required, pretty much anything that is considered ‘elective’. Mr. Moss, let this go? Why do you despise the one true God that loves you? This is a sad showing of what our society is coming to…
You’ve got to be kidding! How politically correct and relgiously sensitive do we,as Americans, have to become? I’m sure there are other things that Mr. Moss could worry about.
WOW - Wofford College professors (a methodist college) trying to block high school students from attending an ELECTIVE course! Before Wofford Moss taught at an even more religious College in Israel! These two professors need to find somewhere else to teach and something better to work on!




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