Christian Nationalist Bible Class Bill Fails to Gain Foothold in New York

American Atheists — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 21:20:48 +0000

Albany, NY—Today, the national religious equality watchdog, American Atheists, praised the New York Assembly Education Committee for voting 23-6 against Bible class legislation (A6315). This controversial bill would have encouraged public schools to offer elective Bible courses and required the Commissioner of Education to develop guidelines for such classes. This victory comes after American Atheists submitted testimony, warning members of the Assembly Education Committee that multiple studies have found that Bible classes are often taught in an unconstitutional way that promotes Christianity and exposes public schools to lawsuits. “New York did the right thing. These Bible courses often serve as a veneer to engage in proselytizing in public schools,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists. “Rather than protecting religious freedom in schools, this Christian nationalist bill would undermine the religious freedom of anyone who is not Christian by potentially subjecting students to religious coercion.” New York’s Bible class bill is similar to model legislation provided by the secretive Christian Nationalist campaign, Project Blitz, which American Atheists and partners in the BlitzWatch Coalition oppose. Project Blitz dates back to 2015. In 2017, the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation (CPCF), one of the groups behind Project Blitz, released a state-level legislative guide promoting nearly two dozen harmful bills, including those allowing discrimination in adoption and foster care, as well as denial of health services. “Project Blitz attempts to pass these Bible class bills and other seemingly innocuous bills in order to insert religious messaging into schools and then build momentum for far worse, discriminatory legislation,” said Gill. “New York taxpayer dollars should fund public education, not be wasted on Project Blitz’s out-of-state efforts to indoctrinate students,” she added.

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Missouri Residents: Oppose Bible Classes in Public Schools!

American Atheists — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 22:06:06 +0000

The Missouri House of Representatives is about to vote on a dangerous bill that threatens the religious freedom of Missouri students. HB 1345 would encourage public schools to provide elective Bible classes. Christian nationalists are once again attempting to insert religious ideology into Missouri’s public education system. Please contact your Missouri state representative and ask them to stop this bill! More often than not, these classes end up resembling Sunday school rather than public school because schools fail to meet the constitutional requirement to teach them in a secular way. We need your help to oppose this bill: Tell your state representative to vote NO on HB 1345! This legislation bears all the hallmarks of Project Blitz, a multistate campaign by Christian nationalists to attack the separation of religion and government, LGBTQ equality, and access to reproductive services. HB 1345 provides no way to ensure that students are free from religious proselytizing. Additionally, the bill states learning the Christian Bible and Hebrew Scriptures are “prerequisites to understanding contemporary society and culture,” marginalizing the values and experiences of students who are atheists or religious minorities. Please act now. Urge your state representative to vote NO on HB 1345 encouraging Bible courses in public schools!

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Bible Classes Archives - American Atheists

Christian Nationalist Bible Class Bill Fails to Gain Foothold in New York

Missouri Residents: Oppose Bible Classes in Public Schools!