Ky. county religious social media messaging is in the crosshairs
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Three (3) Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 12
Issue Numbering: 2
Section: B
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”
Theme Part: 30
Formal Sub-Theme: None
Individual Publication Date: April 8, 2024
Issue Publication Date: May 1, 2024
Author(s): Freedom From Religion Foundation
Author(s) Bio: The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national membership organization with State Representatives selected by members and a governing Executive Board of Directors selected by the State Representatives. The Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Non-profit status under the Internal Revenue Code, Section 501(c)3, was recognized originally in 1978, with a final tax-exempt determination in 1980. Contributions are deductible under Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code for federal income tax purposes. Bequests, legacies, devises, transfers and gifts to or for the use of the Freedom From Religion Foundation are deductible for federal estate and gift tax purposes under the provisions of Sections 2055, 2106 and 2522 of the Code. The Foundation, a membership group open to the public, has been classified as an organization which is not a private foundation.
Word Count: 432
Image Credit: None.
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2369-6885
*Original publication from FFRF here.*
*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the publication.*
Keywords: Adams School, constitutional principle, evangelical messages, First Amendment, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Gum Drop Kids, Illinois, indoctrination, Marion Community Unit School District #2, proselytization, public schools, religion in schools, religious indoctrination, Sammi Lawrence, separation of church and state, Superintendent Becky Moss.
FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination
A Christian group has been barred from targeting an Illinois school district’s children with religious propaganda, thanks to the efforts of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
A concerned parent informed the state/church watchdog that Marion Community Unit School District #2 was regularly allowing outside adults to enter Adams School during the school day to give low-income students food and candy — along with overtly proselytizing messages. Gum Drop Kids, a southern Illinois nonprofit, provides snacks to low-income children at Adams School every Friday, and two of the snacks this year contained proselytizing messages. For instance, a Valentine’s Day card said “Jesus loves you!!” with a Latin cross drawn at the bottom. Another snack was accompanied with a bookmark with the same religious message as the Valentine’s Day card.
Students — including low-income students — have the First Amendment right to be free from religious indoctrination in their public schools, FFRF insisted.
“It is a basic constitutional principle that public schools may not show favoritism toward or coerce belief or participation in religion,” FFRF Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow Sammi Lawrence wrote to Superintendent Becky Moss. “Here, Gum Drop Kids uses access to particularly vulnerable school children to promote a religious message that seeks to convert children to Christianity.”
Gum Drop Kids’ tactic of combining indoctrination with charity is a common tactic employed by some ministries: handing over food with a bible or other religious literature. The purpose is to lure disadvantaged individuals into believing that such religion — here Christianity — is responsible for or somehow attached to the cessation of hunger and dawning of prosperity. Ultimately, it is the public school’s responsibility to ensure that materials given to children on school property during the school day do not unconstitutionally promote religion.
FFRF urged the school district to investigate this matter and ensure that Adams School ceases permitting outside adults to evangelize students during the school day. Only hours later, the district responded to FFRF.
“I received your letter and I have made contact with one of the Gum Drops organizers; I told her that we appreciate the Gum Drops bags but I ask that moving forward there are no messages promoting religion in any way,” Superintendent Moss replied via email. “Separation of church and state must be upheld.”
FFRF appreciates the focus of the school district on constitutional matters.
“We always feel that our work has been accomplished when school officials respond positively,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “We applaud actions to alleviate food insecurity or brighten up the school day with occasional treats, but it is exploitation when the real intent is proselytization.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 40,000 members and several chapters across the country, including more than 1,200 members and a chapter in Illinois. Our purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
Bibliography
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Footnotes
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Citations
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition): FFRF. FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination . April 2024; 12(2). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/ffrf-illinois
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition): FFRF. (2024, April 8). FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination . In-Sight Publishing. 12(2).
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): FFRF. FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination . In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Fort Langley, v. 12, n. 2, 2024.
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition): FFRF. 2024. “FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination .” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 2 (Spring). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/ffrf-illinois.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition): FFRF “FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination .” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 2 (April 2024).http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/ffrf-illinois.
Harvard: FFRF. (2024) ‘FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination ’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, 12(2). <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/ffrf-illinois>.
Harvard (Australian): FFRF 2024, ‘FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination ’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 12, no. 2, <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/ffrf-illinois>.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition): FFRF. “FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination .” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vo.12, no. 2, 2024, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/ffrf-illinois.
Vancouver/ICMJE: FFRF. FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination [Internet]. 2024 Apr; 12(2). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/ffrf-illinois.
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