Written by Don Byrd
A school superintendent in Southern Ohio is defiantly refusing to remove a portrait of Jesus from the school’s hall. Rejecting a request from a church-state advocacy group, Phil Howard says the picture at Jackson Middle School is not a school endorsement of Christianity because it was given to the school by a group of students.
He won’t remove it unless a court or his school board orders him to. Maybe they should. Otherwise, how could he turn down any number of portraits students may now bring to him for display – from Joseph Smith to Vishnu, maybe even including the Flying Spaghetti Monster – without improperly showing religious favoritism?
Memo to school leaders: it’s not just the initiation of religion that indicates endorsement. It’s also the choice to give or deny a forum.
