{"id":35063,"date":"2019-12-27T09:26:55","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T15:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mbcpathway.local\/?p=35063"},"modified":"2019-12-24T19:30:12","modified_gmt":"2019-12-25T01:30:12","slug":"missouri-attorney-general-will-fight-atheistic-organization-harassing-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbcpathway.com\/2019\/12\/27\/missouri-attorney-general-will-fight-atheistic-organization-harassing-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri attorney general will fight atheistic organization harassing schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>JEFFERSON CITY \u2013<\/strong> Attorney General Eric Schmitt has vowed to fight a Wisconsin-based atheist organization that is threatening legal action against a Cameron R-1 School District after a football coach led his team in prayer, claiming such activity is unconstitutional.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cOur understanding is that no coach or other Cameron official has forced any football player to participate in prayer or taken any action against any player who chose not to participate,\u201d Schmitt said in a letter to the Cameron School District.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The complaint came in an Oct. 28 letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) to school district Superintendent Matt Robinson.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The letter claims that Cameron High School\u2019s head football coach Jeff Wallace and assistant coach David Stucky have been holding \u201creligious \u2018chapel\u2019 services for players before and after football games where coaches pray with players and read and discuss Bible verses.\u201d The letter alleges that Wallace brings in guest preachers to convert the players and that such activity constitutes a government advancement and endorsement of religion, a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Schmitt disputed that interpretation in his letter to the school district and assured the school district that the Establishment Clause \u201cdoes not prohibit public prayer, and that the First Amendment protects the rights of public school students to engage in voluntary prayer in public spaces.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Schmitt said FFRF\u2019s threats \u201cring hollow.\u201d He described FFRF as \u201can extreme anti-religion organization that seeks to intimidate local governments into surrendering their citizens\u2019 religious freedom and to expunge any mention of religion from the public square.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">FFRF has threatened other Missouri school districts in the past for similar religious activities. Schmitt\u2019s letter cited how FFRF mailed more than 1,000 complaint letters in 2018 in attempts to stop schoolchildren from saying the Pledge of Allegiance and erasing \u201cIn God We Trust\u201d from U.S. currency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Schmitt\u2019s letter concluded, \u201c(I)f FFRF seeks to silence voluntary prayer outside of Cameron\u2019s football games through a lawsuit, we will support your football team\u2019s lawful, voluntary decision to pray.\u201d\u2002<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attorney General Eric Schmitt has vowed to fight a Wisconsin-based atheist organization that is threatening legal action against a Cameron R-1 School District after a football coach led his team in prayer, claiming such activity is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9192292,"featured_media":28429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_selected_social_profile":[]},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Missouri attorney general will fight atheistic organization 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