Barred from Field, Signs Move to Stands

Stacy Lunsford
November 2, 2009
Sociology 313-003
Instructor: Colin Olson
Blog Post #5

Barred From Field, Religious Signs Move to Stands

After the September 11th attacks football players and cheerleaders at a public high school in Georgia wanted to make the Bible a lager part of the Friday night games. So they painted large signs that said “Commit to the Lord” for the football players to run through on the field. This tradition has been going for eight years until some parents became concerned that their would be a First Amendment lawsuit since church and state were not officially separate. The school board agreed and the banners were banned. Approximately a month later instead of signs being in the field for the football players to run through, they are now in the stands. The town with almost 10, 000 residents became upset with the school boards policy and has taken up the signs of the cheerleaders and football players. Fans calling themselves “Warriors for Christ” have begun to have rallies and and have sold slightly over 1,500 shirts with Bible passages written on them. Federal courts have ruled that public school students can promote their faith, but not in school sponsored clubs. Cheerleaders and football players are most likely considered school sponsored because they have the school's name on their uniform. Some cheerleaders have felt the ban has put damper on their school spirit because they are not able to express themselves. Now more than ever there are many more displays of religious beliefs at games. Before the football game last week, the football players prayed in their huddle saying “In Jesus Name”. Many of the fans say that the Bible banners are her to stay.

Citation:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/us/27cheerleader.html

I think that people are forgetting the separation between church and state. Nobody is asking those with Christian beliefs to give up their belief system, but to remember that everyone doesn't believe the same way that they do. There will never be a consensus between people and religion and thats why church and state are separate. I think that the town people are trying to exert a form of control on others by ignoring the ban. Now if this school was a Christian school I could understand, but at a public school everyone has a different belief system and that should be respected.