-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Northwest Rankin High School is a public high school located in Flowood, Mississippi. On Tuesday April 9th, a student, representing Pinelake Baptist Church, addressed an assembly at the school and showed a video of two young men who had been “saved” from drugs and sex. Several students reported the mandatory assembly, during school hours, to the Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC). AHLC coordinator William Burgess sent a letter of condemnation to principal Charles Frazier.
Rankin County School District released a statement saying the assembly was not mandatory:
Our students have the freedom to organize student-led and planned meetings and the assembly in question was student-led and organized.
However, the AHLC letter claims that the assembly was mandatory and an e-mail, shown here with names redacted, from Frazier to faculty members bears this out. As the AHLC letter notes: “Making attendance voluntary would not cure the constitutional infirmity.” This is borne out by the Court’s 
opinion in Lee v. Weisman (1992), where J. Kennedy wrote in the opinion of the Court: “the government may no more use social pressure to enforce orthodoxy than it may use more direct means.” The school can take no part any private student meetings promoting religion.
The AHLC letter notes that having a student deliver the presentation does not “absolve the school and its officials from liability.” That the presentation was school-sponsored and held on school property during class-time is sufficient for a violation of the Establishment Clause. The violation is exacerbated by Frazier’s promoting student attendance of the assembly as a requirement.
The AHLC letter also claims that several students, who tried to leave, were harassed by a principal and told to sit back down. One has to admire the students’ courage, in the face of official intimidation, in attempting to escape the proselytizing.
In her concurrence in Lynch v. Donnelly (1984), J. O’Connor wrote:
The purpose prong of the Lemon test asks … whether, irrespective of government’s actual purpose, the practice under review in fact conveys a message of endorsement or disapproval. An affirmative answer to either question should render the challenged practice invalid.
Clearly, school officials used the authority of their office to require and maintain attendance at a Christian proselytizing meeting. This is a blatant example of Christian privilege and a violation of the Establishment Clause. The Rankin County School District better rein in Frazier, or they’ll have to use taxpayer funds to pay for defense lawyers in a civil suit.
The intent of the Establishment Clause is found in the words of the founders, whose envisioned a “perfect separation” between church and state. The progression towards that “perfect separation” requires constant vigilance. History shows us that those in power will use that power to maintain their dominance. New converts are essential for religions to maintain the status quo. Let religion obtain those converts using the persuasion by argument, rather than the coercion by authority. The historical predominance of the latter testifies to the ineffectiveness of the former.
H/T: Hemant Mehta.
Good idea Nal!
There will be no posting of private information. I will delete it.
It’s a school night, go to sleep.
If you would like to discus this on more private terms I will gladly give you my email address, phone number, anything you would like if you feel like you are being attacked by people on this site
See what’s funny is how easy it is for you to discuss your ideas and act as though you are the minority when more people have attacked my comment rather than anyone who was on the other. But complaining about my lack of better words and then cursing is pretty ironic. I guess you didn’t know a better word that could have gone there.
The one where unless you follow Jesus Christ you go to hell? Unless you believe in him you go to hell? If you have different beliefs you go to hell?
That aside it’s still against the constitution for a school to sponsor a religious event durin school hours, even a student led one.
I’m not going to bash you, MY OWN RELIGIOIN, Or any of the other students/teachers that attended. I only want to have everyone’s constitutional rights to Freedom of Religion recognized. That’s what the problem here is. The fact that this was an unconstitutional assembly.
“A good education is not one that gives you all the answers but rather one that teaches you how to think, how to use your mind in a rational manner so that you may discover the answers that fit your own questions.” – Blouise
And there it is.
“found hope”
Do they teach English at NWR? See, there is this word . . .
euphemism /ˈjuːfəmɪz(ə)m/, n.,
:a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing:
Say a word that is more accurate as well as harsh and blunt like . . .
proselytize \ˈprä-s(ə-)lə-ˌtīz\. v.,
1: to induce someone to convert to one’s faith
2: to recruit someone to join one’s party, institution, or cause
Well, here’s what I think of euphemistic language. It’s George Carlin speaking, but we’re on the same page . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc
And combine that with what I think about organized religion but especially those that engage in proselytizing . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjVLJKR6g7U
“found hope” is a weak bullshit euphemism for proselytized in the context presented above.
No rational being with even moderate much less advanced language skills wouldn’t see through that gossamer thin disguise.
The one where they taught about the only variety of Christianity, the one where Jesus is the savior… unless I am mistaken that is what Christianity is… following Christ. And which one did you attend again?
Gentlemen and Lady,
In his response to you Nal mentioned “a rational mind and a good education”. I second that most heartily. A good education is not one that gives you all the answers but rather one that teaches you how to think, how to use your mind in a rational manner so that you may discover the answers that fit your own questions.
And there is a lesson to be learned from this assembly and the manner in which it was presented to you. One day you will find yourself in situations where you are part of the majority and that is when it is most important to listen to the minority so that you do not make the mistake of shoving your own views down the throats of others. It takes a rational mind to work your way through those situations and a good education that teaches you how to reason is invaluable in that process.
Which assembly did you attend? Unless you are a junior or a senior then you weren’t in one of the groups that wasn’t allowed to leave
I went to the assembly and I was not forced to go or stay there by anyone. Especially since there was not even a principle in the room. They even invited students of different religions to come and share their beliefs with them and they would gladly engage in a conversation. Just because they thought they would be judged doesn’t give them a reason not to leave. We were being judged for being in the room. By the way there were more than two guys in the video and they said they found hope not were saved. The teachers told us if we didn’t feel like going we could stay with them, and that there was nothing wrong with not going.
Thank You everyone.
I’m not upset by the fact they had the rally. I’m upset by te fact that they forced over 400 kids of different beliefs Into a Christian rally without giving them the opportunity to leave. It’s going against our very constitution. They DO NOT hve the right to do this.
Gene and OS,
Those are two independent thinking young men!
Fellows, you have to look at it this way. They do not seem to be bothered that they offend you, but get their little feelings hurt if you disagree with them. This doesn’t quite balance out.
Just stand your ground. If they are so fragile that you have to buy into their system, but are unable to see things from your point of view, then we do not have to guess as to who has the healthier belief system. Hang in there guys. This thread will stay open forever, so be sure to come back and update us as much as you feel comfortable doing.
BTW, I had an office in Flowood for many years. I know the area well. Hang in there, we have your back.
What Gene said.
Thank you Gene hopefully people will finally understand that we need to be heard when it comes to our opinion on a situation like this were some will get offended
Hayden/Jake,
You two are good kids. It takes spine to stand up for your rights, especially in the face of a hostile majority and those in authority who might support them. When you defend your rights, you are defending everyone’s rights. I admire that in a person. It’s noble and a sign of good character.
If they want to punish me for this then ill gladly point out that forcing people to attend a religious assembly in a PUBLIC school is infringement on mine and everyone’s constitutional rights.
Jake, I say the same to you as I did to Hayden. It is hard, especially when you are younger and in school to stand your ground against what could be considered bullying: trying to force you into a belief the others want you to agree with. Good for you for having the strength to stand up against this..
I don’t care they can look if they want I have a right to comment on the actions of an administrator if they think I’m breaking some kind of rule I’ll gladly take a punishment if that means that people see that the minority isn’t worried about I get the strangest looks from people when I say I’m not a full believer in Christianity I get called an atheist and then subject to a good 10 questions asking why I think the way I do and then at the end just told I’m wrong and that I’m going to “hell” if god is soooo accepting Christians should at least follow the example to at least leave my kind of people alone and let us just continue on our merry way you don’t see us trying to convert every person we see to our belief because its your right to think how you want so let the school just try and say something because of this
Good for you Hayden. Too many think and teach that this is a ‘christian” country which is not the reality. You could be an atheist, a jew, a muslim, a taoist, many, many beliefs and faiths out there. It can be very hard especially when you are young to stand your ground. I applaud you.
If either Jake or Hayden want their names removed from the comments, in case a school official reads them, I can delete their names. School officials cannot see the e-mail addresses.