ACLU Defends Young Student’s Right to Read Bible at School

Written by Don Byrd
All too often, school officials mistakenly believe the law requires them to bar all religious activity during the school day. Nothing could be further from the truth. The First Amendment guarantees the separation of church and state, but it also protects the rights of students to pray privately, and to engage in religious speech together to the same extent they are allowed to engage in non-religious speech.

In Tennessee’s Cannon County, that principle is being defended by the ACLU on behalf of a young student who simply wants to read the Bible at school at appropriate times.

“Baby Messiah” Magistrate Removed From Bench

Written by Don Byrd
A brief update to a strange story from last year: A Child Support Magistrate in Tennessee, Lu Ann Belew, has been fired by the presiding judge in the state’s 4th judicial district. Belew is the magistrate who famously ordered a baby’s name changed from “Messiah.” She was subsequently cited by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct for “religious bias.”

Reuters reports that the Board still has jurisdiction over the Magistrate even though she is no longer on the job.