"Is this legal?"

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi folks,

I for one sure am glad it is not legal:   they were instructed to close their eyes and raise their arms in prayer

Religious session at public school ignites debate in West Virginia : NPR

Jerry Baumchen

 

[metalslug 31]

And.. what was the sanction for anyone who refused to follow those exact instructions? Decades ago at my own school I would routinely decline to join in prayer or sing along to hymns (unless they had a catchy tune) and no authority ever breathed a word about it to me.

  I'm fairly sure it's legal for a school to herd students into a venue or hall for a gathering, but if they are not specifically compelled to perform religious acts then I don't quite see how 'is this legal' comes into it. Telling students that non-compliance "would go to hell when they died" is certainly shitty, but if these students were 16 years as reported then that's a bit like being told that the Balrog from LOTR will get you, a bit of a yawn.

By contrast; It's recently been alleged (well, there is video too) that a school in DC  (USA) 'forced' kindergarteners to march around with BLM signs. Anyone find that more acceptable than this incident?

[billvon 2,400]

59 minutes ago, metalslug said:

  I'm fairly sure it's legal for a school to herd students into a venue or hall for a gathering, but if they are not specifically compelled to perform religious acts then I don't quite see how 'is this legal' comes into it. Telling students that non-compliance "would go to hell when they died" is certainly shitty, but if these students were 16 years as reported then that's a bit like being told that the Balrog from LOTR will get you, a bit of a yawn.

Would be fun to see what happens if a student asks for a reading from the book of Tolkien instead of a class prayer next time.

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

1 minute ago, billvon said:

Would be fun to see what happens if a student asks for a reading from the book of Tolkien instead of a class prayer next time.

Or the Koran.