Freedom...

   In the 1962 case Engel v. Vitale, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional for students in New York public schools to recite a prayer that was a long-standing tradition: "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country." It did not matter that the prayer was voluntary or that it did not favor any particular denomination or religion. The judges simply did not want prayer in the school. (prayers gone)
   The 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case, School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, involved a Pennsylvania  policy which allowed:
Each school...shall be opened by the reading without comment of a chapter in the Holy Bible...Participation in the opening exercises...is voluntary. The student reading the verses from the Bible may select passages and read from any version he chooses.  Edward Schempp sued the school district of Pennsylvania to "save" his children from voluntary reading of the Bible, even though Mr. Schempp's own daughter had once offered to read Scripture for her fellow students. The court threw out the Pennsylvania policy. (reading of the Bible gone)
   In a Kentucky Case, Stone v. Graham, that reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1980, the court ruled against a state law that required the Ten Commandments be posted in every classroom. At the bottom of each Ten Commandments poster was an explanation of the importance of the Decalogue: "The secular application of the Ten Commandments is clearly seen in its adoption as the fundamental legal code of Western Civilization and the Common Law of the United States of America." Down came the Ten Commandments. (display of Ten Commandments gone)
   Judge Samuel B. Kent of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on May 5, 1995:
     The court will allow that prayer to be typical non-denominational prayer, which can refer to God or the Almighty or that sort of thing.
     The prayer may not refer to a specific deity by name, whether it be Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, the great god Sheba, or anyone 
     else. And make no mistake, the court is going to have a United States Marshall in attendance at the graduation. If any student offends
     this court, that student will be summarily arrested and will face up to six months incarceration in the Galveston County Jail
     for contempt of court. Anyone who thinks I'm kidding about this order...(or) expressing any weakness or lack of resolve in
     that spirit of compromise would better think again. (mentioning the name of Jesus gone)
   No student should lose rights to freedom of speech and religion when he or she walks through the school door. This blogger agrees.
From: Christian Worldview by Brannon Howse: Thank you Mr. Howse!!!