Thomas More Law Center Defends Patriotic “God Banners”
In a case that has fallen from public view, the Thomas More Law Center has continued to defend Poway teacher Brad Johnson’s right to display banners in his classroom that contain patriotic quotes with “God” in them:
In a classic example of discrimination against anything Christian, the School District allowed religious classroom displays by other teachers, including displays included a 35 to 40-foot string of Tibetan prayer flags with images of Buddha; a poster with the lyrics from John Lennon’s anti-religion song “Imagine;” a poster with Hindu leader Mahatma Gandhi’s “7 Social Sins”; a poster of Muslim leader Malcolm X; and a poster of Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama.
As noted last year, the District Court found in his favor, saying the school district violated the Establishment Clause by restricting a specific religious viewpoint. The school district appealed. Also noted last year, this case has a unique applicability to the military culture.
The school clearly overreacted. You can’t abridge someone’s religious rights because they “may offend” someone.
@Phoenix Blue
It may be one step more direct than that: The virtue of religious freedom essentially guarantees that one will be offended at some point. The ability of a society to exist under such conditions is a hallmark of its protection of religious freedom; that’s something American society, and the US military, largely have.
The primary issue here seems to be their decision to single out a particular perspective and treat it differently than every other one, which is generally an impermissible inconsistency.