Atheist Group ‘Bullies’ Public School Into Cutting Live Nativity From Christmas Show

An Oklahoma public elementary school removed its third-grade live Nativity scene from its annual Christmas production after receiving a threatening letter from an atheist group.

Christopher Line, staff attorney at the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), wrote to F. Andrew Fugitt at the Center for Education Law that the school district was committing a “constitutional violation”:

A concerned Edmond Public Schools community member has reported that each year, third grade teachers at Chisholm Elementary have students rehearse a live nativity scene, which students then perform at the school’s holiday concert in December. We understand that Chisholm students who participate in the nativity play various roles, including Mary and Joseph, etc.

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While a public school can hold holiday concerts, religious performances and instruction that emphasize the religious aspects of a holiday are prohibited … A live nativity performance celebrating the story of Jesus’s birth is precisely the sort of religious endorsement prohibited by the Establishment Clause.

Line pressed the school district to “ensure that future school-sponsored performances will not include nativity scenes and that District teachers will not promote religion through class assignments.” (Read more from “Atheist Group ‘Bullies’ Public School Into Cutting Live Nativity From Christmas Show” HERE)

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