The messenger, not only the message says ACLU / Americans United

The messenger, not only the message says ACLU / Americans United

This is a turn for the worse. It seems , according to the ACLU & Americans United, it is not only the Christian message which we must ban from our schools, but any message from those who call themselves Christians.

From the Washington Post:

Christian comedian Keith Deltano did a lot of things at Loudoun County High School yesterday to encourage teenagers to stay away from sex. He sang bad hip-hop, told stories about oozing diapers, and read from a government report on how condoms can fail.

But he never once talked about Jesus. Although he often delivers one-liners tailored to his faith, Deltano gave a routine expunged of religion to more than 1,000 students at the public high school in Leesburg.

Some civil liberties advocates, skeptical of such shows, said school officials must enforce a line that is tested by religious performers who are invited into public schools to entertain and educate but not preach.

“Having so-called secular performances or speeches in public schools by Christian evangelists” is a growing trend, said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Schools need to be extremely careful when they tread into these waters.”

Is there an issue, beyond the mislabeled separation of Church and State, which drives American’s United to warn schools? I do believe that the beliefs of a person should be a selection criteria for speaking to kids – but the ACLU and American’s United have often used that argument in favor of fair access for non-Christian groups – why the change here? I will try and not be so quick to cry foul, but it seems to me a double standard on the part of American’s United.

When it heard about Deltano’s event, the ACLU sent a letter last week to Loudoun County High Principal Bill Oblas. The group sought assurances that the comedian would not promote the Christian pregnancy center in Lansdowne that hired him or plug his religious books and videos. It also sought a prohibition on invitations to off-campus religious activities.

Oblas said he and Deltano had already established clear parameters. The principal had previewed the performance and determined that the message was “identical” to the system’s sex-education curriculum, which emphasizes abstinence. He also sent notes to parents and gave students the option of not attending.

The note to parents and an option for students not to attend is the same thing that Dave Parker pushed for in Massachusetts, and it landed him in jail. Yes, this is a very different case, yet there is a core of similarity. Why can parents and students opt out of some sessions, driven by extracurricular sources, and not others?

Stephen Budiansky, father of an 11th-grader at Loudon County High, alerted the ACLU to the event. He said he was alarmed that the school system would invite a sex-ed presentation from someone who was not a health-care professional and who has what Budiansky called “a clear religious agenda.”

That’s funny – I seem to recall the same question being raised with regards to homosexuals pushing their agenda. It didn’t help those of us who find it offensive to promote such a vile lifestyle to our kids.

Abstinence has been a regular target of the ACLU and its partners including Planned Parenthood. Their involvement in this case is no surprise. We should continue to watch these cases closely, as the ACLU is very good at scope creep.