Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
This time in Arkansas, where the Benton public schools have been letting the Gideons go into elementary school classrooms for several years, accompanied by the school principal, and give out Bibles to the kids.
For several years -- at least six, principal Ann Kerr says -- the school has allowed members of Gideons International, armed with copies of the New Testament and accompanied by the principal, to come speak to fifth graders about their evangelical work and make the copies of the Good News available to students.A parent complained. Superintendent Tony Prothro said Monday the district was "trying to figure out what to do," and will consult with Arkansas School Board Association legal counsel.
As the author of the article points out, it's really not that difficult to figure out what to do:
What's so hard to figure out? They need only consult the 1973 ruling by federal Judge Oren Harris that told the Cross County School district that its practice of allowing the Gideons to come speak to the fifth graders was unconstitutional. It was a long time ago -- 36 years -- but not forgettable.Principal Kerr, who believed that because the Bibles were only left behind and not actually handed to children made the practice legal, should note what Harris wrote: "The Court has already determined that the Bible is an instrument of religion. The fact that it only contains the King James Version of the New Testament, Book of Psalms, and the Book of Proverbs, does not change the religious character of the Gideon's presentation to fifth grade students. The fact that a student is not required to accept the presentation is of no significance. ..."
If the school has established a limited or designated public forum in which outside groups can come in to distribute literature, then and only then can the Gideons hand out their Bibles. But under no circumstances can the school give the Gideons access to a classroom full of students to preach at.
Politics
Comments
The penalty should be doubled for school principals this dumb.
Posted by: MikeMa | November 10, 2009 9:18 AM
That's the problem with uppity-Yankees judging Arkansans from afar. Everyone here knows God's hand-picked governor Mike Huckabee put filters on the intertubes that screens out all the filth emanating outside our great state from those that hate God. So there's no way we are both cognizant and able to consider such a ruling since the judge clearly hated God and is trying to destroy our Constitutional freedoms derived directly from God's Law to James Madison's fingers.
Posted by: Michael Heath | November 10, 2009 9:21 AM
I wonder if there's a way to find out from the Gideons themselves where all the schools are that they still get away with this. Maybe call and volunteer to help?
I'd like to get my hands on the Gideons proverbial 'little black book' of schools where they still do this.
I would then like to go to that school, and ask to pass out copies of the Koran, the Gita, and maybe copies of Kissing Hank's Ass. =)
Posted by: FastLane | November 10, 2009 9:56 AM
I wonder if the Gideons care that it's unconstitutional.
Posted by: FishyFred | November 10, 2009 10:22 AM
FL, my guess (and this is only a guess) is that not even the Gideons know that at the national level. More likely each local chapter keeps their own list.
Posted by: BruceH | November 10, 2009 10:22 AM
"The fact that it only contains the King James Version of the New Testament, Book of Psalms, and the Book of Proverbs, does not change the religious character of the Gideon's presentation to fifth grade students."
No Solomon? That's the sexy one! And no Job? That's the one with the really poor answer to the Problem of Evil, inspired by God Himself! And no Ecclesiastes? That's the, um, doubter's one! Pah! What could is State-abetted religious indoctrination if you aren't going to include the good books of the Good Book?
Posted by: Modusoperandi | November 10, 2009 10:33 AM
@Modusoperandi: Don't forget Esther. The "sex as a weapon" theme there is a great thing to teach fifth graders.
Posted by: Jay | November 10, 2009 11:06 AM
The eighth coment down by hoggernick is a truly inspired piece of writting/snark. Well worth the jump to read it
http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2009/11/preachin_in_school_settled_26.aspx
Posted by: Chilidog | November 10, 2009 11:21 AM
Jay "@Modusoperandi: Don't forget Esther. The "sex as a weapon" theme there is a great thing to teach fifth graders."
Yeah. I wrote a screenplay "inspired" by it called Sex Weapons. We almost got Julie Strain for the lead role, but she dropped out after getting the script. Not enough toplessness, apparently.
Posted by: Modusoperandi | November 10, 2009 11:37 AM
Easy fix, just allow Pastafarians to come in and hand out the gospel of the flying spaghetti monster. The bible handouts will stop instantly.
Posted by: Curt | November 10, 2009 12:17 PM
I still (vaguely) remember the day when Gideons came and handed out Bibles to my class in school. I was probably about ten years old at the time, and I think I still have the little red book lying around somewhere 35 years later.
OF course, I was growing up in Scotland where such things were/are not deemed to be unconstitutional, and I believe I already had a full copy of the Bible as one of the textbooks my parents had to buy me for my (state) school's R.E. classes.
All of this was perfect preparation for the least religious generation Britain ever had, and now their children are grown, the country is even less religious. Not saying that it would work the same way in the US, but I can't get too fussed over this type of thing (from a non-legal perspective anyway) since I doubt it's really responsible for much religious indoctrination in the long run.
What I see amongst my friends in the US today is similar to what was happening with the parents of my friends in Scotland 30 years ago. They used to go to church when they were kids but stopped when they left home, only to start again when they had their own kids. But instead of hammering home the notion that Christianity is the one true religion as their parents did, my friends seem much more inclined to send their kids to Sunday School simply so that they can make up their own mind about religion when they grow up. This will likely lead to a much more secular America in another generation or so, no matter what the Gideons try.
Posted by: tacitus | November 10, 2009 12:50 PM
tacitus: All of this was perfect preparation for the least religious generation Britain ever had, and now their children are grown, the country is even less religious. Not saying that it would work the same way in the US, but I can't get too fussed over this type of thing (from a non-legal perspective anyway) since I doubt it's really responsible for much religious indoctrination in the long run.
IMO with us its much more grassroots, much less top-down. You might say its not the goverment imposing religion on me and my neighbors, its my neighbors imposing religion on me and my government.
Because the ones doing the imposing rarely see it as a bad thing, what happens in the U.S. is not likely to make the neighbors become less religious over time. But that's just my perspective.
Posted by: eric | November 10, 2009 4:42 PM
It's a helluva dilemma. You're either trying to figure out how to disobey the law without getting into trouble with the law, or you're trying to obey the law without getting vilified by all the people who despise the law. Either way, the elementary school principal is hosed.
Posted by: Scott Hanley | November 10, 2009 5:43 PM
I'm all for the giving away of any book to students. After all, reading is the best way to be exposed to new ideas, and is key to the learning process. Even so, I don't think actually handing out the Bibles is appropriate... maybe making them available to take home for free in the library or something... But, of course, even this would be unconstitutional if the schools wouldn't grant the same privilege to other groups as well. But, from a personal perspective, by all means, make Bibles available for free; just don't preach or proselytize.
Posted by: Adam | November 10, 2009 8:04 PM
Hoggerneck for the win!
Given rural Arkansas, I'd say the Scientologists or Raelians would be best - they both feature space aliens, which is pretty much a staple for rednecks everywhere. Of course, that might make it acceptable, which defeats the purpose, so maybe we can rethink that.
Mormons? TM?
Posted by: Badger3k | November 10, 2009 9:06 PM
I still have one of those... one sec.
Yep, here it is. Has my name and date in the front in the "presented to" section: October 16, 1985 back in Alberta.
The version I have is wrapped in some rather high pressure marketing. I'm happy to see that I did not sign the "I accept Jesus as my Personal Savior" bit at the back of the book: something I might have done mindlessly at the age of 8.
Posted by: Left_Wing_Fox | November 10, 2009 9:59 PM
Modusoperandi,
Maybe get Carrie Prejean to take the role? It should fit her well, she gets to be naked and she gets a religious theme.
That said, I think your take on Job is inaccurate. The book deliberately undermines various responses about theodicy and the nature of suffering. Indeed, it is quite noteworthy that Jews and Christians still use arguments which are either explicitly or implicitly rejected in Job. Job is really a very subversive book.
Posted by: Joshua Zelinsky | November 11, 2009 12:21 AM
Let me see if I've got this straight:
A local distillery gets a principal's permission to come into a school and conduct a whiskey tasting for the kiddies. Some of the kids taste the whiskey, some don't. The principal gets busted but the distillery is off the hook?
What the fork?
And why aren't the local Gideon organizations getting prosecuted or sued or something, for taking an action that doesn't just violate the drinking age laws, but violates the friggin' United States Constitution?
Am I just too sleep deprived to think clearly or is something terribly forked-up here?
Posted by: g347 | November 11, 2009 9:30 PM
Joshua Zelinsky "That said, I think your take on Job is inaccurate. Indeed, it is quite noteworthy that Jews and Christians still use arguments which are either explicitly or implicitly rejected in Job."
It depends how you read it, I guess. I read it as bad stuff happens, whining (lots of whining), solution...where the "solution" is a combination of God saying "How dare you question me! You don't know everything! I'm so strong!" and, absurdly, "Why do bad things happen to good people?...Look at all the other things I do!" to browbeat a Job into continuing to follow Him, despite His consistent past failure, with a little deus ex machina of majiking up new stuff for Job to top it off.
"Job is really a very subversive book."
It is. A more concise answer to the PoE would've been along the lines of "*Shrug?* Shit happens, sometimes. Get over it." or somesuch, like the doubter of Ecclesiastes, who is is practically atheist, at times.
Note that it has been a while since I've read either and, memory being what it is, my memories of my memories of them may very well, at this point, in no way match what they are.
Posted by: Modusoperandi | November 11, 2009 10:17 PM
The Gideons offer a Bible. The force no one to take one. If you take the bible fine, if you urn it down fine. It is a voluntary offer, not a rule of force, unlike the teaching of the myth of evolution.
Posted by: Giddy Un | November 12, 2009 9:36 PM
Pray, tell us, oh supposedly wise one: In what way is evolution a myth? Or are you just another drive-by troll with an IQ of lawn clippings?
Waiting...
Posted by: NJ | November 12, 2009 10:12 PM
Giddy Un - What part of:
are you have difficulty with? -DJ
Posted by: DingoJack | November 12, 2009 10:16 PM