The ACLU is representing Scott and Sharon Lane, the parents of a child known in the proceedings as "CC," in a case against the Sabine Parish, Louisiana School Board, where their child was ridiculed for his Buddhist faith, and was forced to endure Christian indoctrination, including forced prayer, in the class. They say that their son's sixth grade curriculum included exam questions like "ISN'T IT AMAZING WHAT THE _____________ HAS MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (the correct answer was "LORD"). The school superintendent told them that they had no business being upset by this, because the school is in the Bible Belt, and he recommended sending the child to a school 25 miles away where there were "more Asians."
The ACLU is calling on supporters of the Lanes and CC to sign a petition to Attorney General Eric Holder, asking for a "an immediate investigation into unlawful religious discrimination in Sabine Parish public schools."
To the right, the charming logo of Negreet High, whose school team is the "Negreet Indians."
Like any parents, we were deeply concerned when our son C.C. began getting sick to his stomach on the way to school each morning.
At first, we thought he had fallen ill. But we soon found out a far more disturbing truth—that our son, a Buddhist of Thai descent, was afraid to go to school because his teacher was chastising him in front of his peers for his Buddhist faith.
As we dug deeper, we discovered that our son’s sixth-grade curriculum at Negreet High included extreme religious indoctrination. The school itself was covered in religious icons. Christian prayer was incorporated into nearly every school event. And our son’s teacher routinely preached her biblical beliefs to students and tested the children on their piety with exam questions such as this one: "ISN'T IT AMAZING WHAT THE _____________ HAS MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
When our son failed to answer religious questions like this correctly (the answer was “LORD”), his teacher mocked him for his beliefs.
Religious Discrimination Has No Place in the Classroom
(Thanks, Catherine!)
