Georgia has had a tendency to mix football and religion , as this latest flare-up reflects.
The new fieldhouse at Madison High School in Danielsville, Ga., includes a donated monument designed to inspire the crowd and the team.
The football players have adopted the practice of touching the monument as they head out to the field.
Credit: Maureen Downey
Credit: Maureen Downey
The problem is the inspirations on the monument are Bible verses: Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” and Romans 8:31 “If God be for us who can be against us?”
The use of overtly Christian references and Biblical citations has drawn protests from two groups, the Freedom from Religion Foundation and the American Humanist Association, both of which argue the monument violates the law.
I sent a note to Allen McCannon, the Madison superintendent, about the monument.
Dr. McCannon responded:
We did not see the blueprints for the monument before it was placed in its current location. We knew the basics about the monument but saw no drawing or plan.
After seeing the monument, I was concerned that it would be become an issue and communicated these concerns to the Board.
I am working with the Board of Education and our attorneys to develop a plan of response. The Board is currently investigating options available to it regarding the monument. Please note that I just received the letter from the American Humanist Association."
A Madison County resident complained about the monument to the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, which says 400 of its 21,500 members live in Georgia. The foundation’s attorney took up the issue and sent a letter to the Madison County school district in August.
According to a statement today from the foundation:
The monument was unveiled on Aug. 22, and currently sits at the team entrance to the field. The monument features the school's logo alongside two prominent New Testament bible verses carved on the stone: Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" and Romans 8:31 "If God be for us who can be against us?"
FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel sent a letter on Aug. 28 informing the district of the divisive and illegal nature of the monument: "Courts have continually held that school districts may not display religious messages or iconography in public schools."
Seidel also noted religious monuments divide teams: "This divisiveness is heightened by the particular passages displayed, 'If God be for us, who could be against us,' literally turns the student body into 'us' and them'—into Christians and everyone else. The import is clear, if you are not Christian, you are not a Red Raider."
On Sept. 24, an attorney representing the district informed FFRF that, "The Board is currently investigating options available to it regarding the monument, including, but not limited to, removal of the monument or modifying the monument in some manner."
FFRF Co-President Dan Barker called this one of the more egregious violations FFRF has encountered in a public school.
Also today, the American Humanist Association sent a letter to Madison County Schools expressing its objections to the monument and outlining similar cases where school districts were found to have crossed the line.
The letter concludes:
In the meantime, we ask that you cover-up the monument until such removal takes place. We kindly ask that you notify us in writing within two weeks of receipt of this letter setting forth the steps you will take to rectify this constitutional infringement. Thank you for turning your attention to this important matter
A spirited debate is under way on the Facebook page of the local newspaper, the Madison County Journal, with the majority in favor of leaving the monument in place and fighting efforts to have it changed or removed. (That could be a costly fight.)
Many commenters agreed with this sentiment: "If you don't like it, don't look at it, find something more productive to focus on. Everyone has a right to express their own beliefs without judgment and if I don't believe, I don't participate but to each his own. Let things be and stop the whining!"
But there is a minority view: "People who are offended by religious propaganda are not bullies; they're people standing up for their own religious rights. No one is saying your children can't be religious, they're saying the state funded school cannot promote the religion. If any other religion rolled out something like that and put it up in a very public place at your child's school, heads would roll. I would argue that it's bullying to force children who are non-religious to be isolated and have their freedom to not have religion shoved down their throat ignored is the bullying."
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