A popular Christian band is under fire from atheists along with Davidson County Schools in North Carolina.
The Heath Brothers had been invited to host an anti-bullying event at Hasty Elementary School. Their performance included a number of songs that mentioned God. Afterwards, they gave the kids a devotional pamphlet that included Bible verses.
Pretty typical stuff one would expect from a Christian band.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation was enraged over the performance and accused the school of being a recruiting ground for Christianity.
“The district cannot allow nonschool persons to treat schools as a recruiting ground for their religious mission,” FFRF staff attorney Madeline Ziegler wrote to the district. “Public schools are not an appropriate place for outside adults to convince students to convert to Christianity.”
School Supt. Gregg Slate was just as horrified and wrote a lengthy letter to the atheists – apologizing for the concert.
“The distribution of religious literature is against our school board policy and legal precedent and our staff has been certainly reminded of this restriction. Please understand that at no time did the district attempt to communicate a message that religion or a particular religious belief is favored or preferred. Moreover, I personally informed the board of education that distribution of religious print materials to elementary students is inappropriate. Furthermore, our legal counsel has provided guidance to the board of education on the sharing of any religious content.”
But the school district went a step further. They reached out to the Health Brothers and asked them to remove video of the event from their social media pages. They also accused the band of misrepresenting themselves.
Lastly, Principal Green of Hasty Elementary has reached out to the Heath Brothers organization and requested for them to remove a video posted on Facebook of the event. She has additionally addressed any and all personnel issues regarding this incident. In conclusion, Davidson County Schools strongly supports a student’s First Amendment Rights. We are disappointed in the misrepresentation of assembly materials presented by the Heath Brothers Organization. Consequently, all schools have been reminded of their legal
obligations in protecting students and their aforementioned rights regarding religious materials content. We are confident that no further events of this nature will occur in the future.
What a shame that wholesome young Christian men are no longer allowed to encourage kids in Davidson County, North Carolina.
“Our country’s promise of church-state separation and religious freedom means that families, not public school officials, get to decide if, when and how children engage with religion,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Parents are understandably outraged that elementary school-age children had no choice but to sit through a coercive religious concert under the guise of it being an ‘anti-bullying’ assembly. Not on our watch. We demand that Davidson County Schools take the necessary steps to protect students’ religious freedom and ensure this never happens again.
“Religious freedom means 3 Heath Brothers can stage their concerts in appropriate venues, but it also means the band cannot use the machinery of the state to impose its message on public schoolchildren,” Laser added. “I would hope the band wants their concerts to be enjoyable, spiritual events for those who choose to attend – not upsetting, coercive ordeals for nonconsenting children and families.”
So, Christian boy bands are not welcome in Davidson County. What about atheist boy bands?
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