Despite ACLU Charge, Christian Speakers Insist Their Program Is Constitutionally Correct
by Jim Brown
October 21, 2005
(AgapePress) - A complaint from one parent has prompted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland to raise objections to a secular anti-drug, anti-suicide program conducted in schools by two Christian comedians. Brothers Rick and Mick Vigneulle recently performed their "Attitude Check" program at nine school assemblies in Charles County, Maryland. At these assemblies, the two Christian performers invited students to an off-campus pizza party at a local hockey rink, where a presentation of the gospel took place.
Although the "Attitude Check" assemblies were not religious in nature, the mother of a sixth-grade student took issue with the program's message. After she complained, the Maryland ACLU sent a letter to the school district, arguing that the program is intended to proselytize students and thus violates the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
However, Rick Vigneulle says the allegation that he and his brother engaged in proselytizing in schools is "an absolute lie." People "know that the program is effective and the kids seem to respond well," he contends. "The problem is you've got a few liberal lunatics out there."
Complaints from anti-Christian or atheistic individuals like the one that prompted the ACLU letter are nothing out of the ordinary, the comedian and youth speaker notes. "We can understand -- we're not trying to make them mad," he says. "They just get mad over every little thing that a Christian does. And that's part of being a Christian."
The parent who complained about the "Attitude Check" program being put on at Charles County Public School accused the two men of acting out the Columbine school shooting during their presentation. But Vigneulle says the story of the shooting was simply recounted by the brother of Columbine victim Cassie Bernall, who was reportedly murdered after she refused to renounce her belief in God.
As for the ACLU charge that the Vigneulles' presentation violated the Constitution's so-called separation of church and state, Rick Vigneulle says he and his brother are always sure to notify students that their off-campus "Pizza Blast" is a faith-based event, not sponsored by the school.
However, the program speaker believes the real issue in this dispute is not the Constitution at all; rather, he says, the issue is that the ACLU simply does not want Christians speaking in public schools. "They talk about separation of church and state," he says, "but it's not separation of church and state at all. They really do have an agenda to dismantle Christianity or any belief in God in this country."
Vigneulle says the ACLU and their atheistic supporters "don't want God in the pledge; they don't want God in our textbooks; they want to take out our religious heritage that this country was founded on. They want separation [between] God and country -- a secular society, one hundred percent."
Despite the ACLU's objections to the program, the Vigneulles say their "Attitude Check" anti-drug, anti-suicide presentations received an overwhelmingly positive response from educators and students at Charles County Public School.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
