On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Attorneys File First Amendment Lawsuit on Behalf of Mother Prevented from Reading Bible Passage for 'Favorite Book' Project
PHILADELPHIA -- Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in defense of the First Amendment rights of a mother who was prevented from reading a Bible passage out loud as part of a "Me Week" kindergarten classroom program intended to feature her son and showcase his favorite book. In their complaint, Institute attorneys charged that by singling out and forbidding Donna Busch from reading a Bible passage chosen by her son Wesley because of the reading's religious content, school officials violated her First Amendment right to free speech, discriminated against her speech on the basis of its religious viewpoint and deprived her of the right to equal protection under the law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. A copy of the complaint is available here (PDF)."By excluding religious expression, and Christian expression and symbols in particular, from the classroom, in the so-called name of the 'separation of church and state,' Culbertson Elementary school officials have exhibited the kind of hostility toward religion that amounts to a violation of Mrs. Busch's fundamental constitutional rights," stated John W. Whitehead, president and founder of The Rutherford Institute.
The case began in October 2004, when Donna Busch accepted an invitation to visit her son Wesley's kindergarten classroom at Culbertson Elementary School in Newtown Square, Penn., and read an excerpt of Wesley's favorite book to his classmates. Wesley's teacher had invited Mrs. Busch because Wesley was the featured student of "Me Week," a school program intended to feature a particular student during the week and emphasize that student's personal characteristics, preferences and personality in classroom activities. One activity made available to all featured students during "Me Week" is the opportunity to have the child's parent read aloud from his or her favorite book. Wesley, a Christian, had chosen the Bible as his favorite book, feeling that a reading from the Bible would express to the class an important aspect of his life and personality. Mrs. Busch chose to read an excerpt from Psalm 118 of the Bible. However, on the day of the reading, Wesley's teacher directed Mrs. Busch not to read the passage until the principal had determined if it could be read to the class. When Principal Thomas Cook was summoned to the classroom, he informed Mrs. Busch that she could not read from the Bible in the classroom because it was against the law and that the reading would violate the "separation of church and state." Mrs. Busch was then offered the opportunity to read from a book about witches, witchcraft and Halloween, which she declined to do. One day after the incident, Wesley saw his Mother reading the Bible and informed her that it was bad to read the Bible. When asked why he thought this, Wesley said that his teacher had told him so. In their complaint, Institute attorneys note that the "Me Week" reading incident was just one example of the school's efforts to suppress the right of Christians to freely express their religious beliefs. For example, although Mrs. Busch was not permitted to read from the Bible, other students were allowed to teach the class the dreidel game and participate in making decorations to remember the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, although students were prohibited from making Christmas decorations.
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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