ADF Battles Georgia County's 'Christmas' Ban in Schools
by Jim Brown
December 5, 2005
(AgapePress) - - A Christian attorney says he's fighting the censorship of Christmas in a Georgia school district where teachers are prohibited from wearing clothing with any sort of religious connotation -- and are under instruction not to have "Christmas" parties in the classroom, but to refer them as "winter" parties.The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has contacted more than 9,000 school districts this year, informing them of the constitutionality of religious expression at Christmastime. The campaign is called "Merry Christmas -- It's Okay to Say It." But apparently the Jackson County (Georgia) school system never got the memo.
ADF attorney David Cortman says Jackson County officials have completely eradicated Christmas from the public school system.
"Teachers are not allowed to say 'Merry Christmas' [and] they're not allowed to wear any pins or angels or crosses or clothing that has any religious connotation or affiliation," Cortman explains. "They can't have a Christmas party -- they have to call it a 'winter party.' They can't sing religious songs. In fact ... they actually censored the word 'God' from the song."
In addition, says the attorney, teachers are prohibited from displaying a Bible in their classroom. The ADF attorney says such restrictions are "incredible," explaining that there are no legal grounds upon which they can be based.
"[T]here is no support in the law" for Jackson County's dictates, he says. "No court has ever held that it's illegal to say 'Merry Christmas' or have a Christmas party or be able to sing Christmas songs, both religious and secular," he says. Instead, Cortman believes threats and intimidation from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have led partly to the county's ban on Christmas expression.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
