School Daze: Two Religious Controversies Roil Rural Va. School District
A Virginia public school system is grappling with questions over the proper role of religion.
Controversy arose after elementary school students in New Hope, Va., were asked to recite a Christian prayer at a mandatory school event on Wednesday. Donna Lewis, a retired teacher, repeatedly appealed to the “dear Lord” and “Heavenly Father” during the prayer, and thanked God for the construction of a new location for Cassell Elementary School. Video published by the Staunton News-Leader shows students with bowed heads and clasped hands during the prayer.
Augusta County School Superintendent Dr. Eric Bond told the News-Leader no one asked Lewis to deliver a prayer.
“Neither the principal nor Dr. Bond directed the speaker to deliver a sectarian message, and they were not provided an advance copy of her remarks for review,” he said. “The principal and Dr. Bond were not aware before the event began that this invited community member planned to deliver a sectarian message.”
As a former public school teacher, Lewis almost certainly knows school-sponsored prayer isn’t legally permitted at official events. But the News-Leader reports that there’s important context to her decision. Augusta County public schools were already mired in a controversy over religion in classrooms.
World geography students at Riverheads High School copied the Shahada, an Islamic prayer, as part of an Arabic calligraphy lesson. Most Islamic sects consider the Shahada to be one of the pillars of the faith; would-be converts recite it as a testimony of their new-found religion.
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