An evangelical group’s plan to hand out fliers to Maryland elementary school students is not an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, so says a federal appeals court that overturned an earlier ruling against Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF).
A respected national organization that offers Bible stories, songs, games and other activities for children via its “Good News Clubs,” CEF had earlier been blocked from the Montgomery County Schools’ take-home flier program, despite the fact that other community groups were allowed to distribute their literature freely.
The school district — which routinely passes out informational material for sports groups, Scouts and various performing arts, child care and environmental groups — refused CEF’s request for the same service, saying the flier program was not available to “proselytization or evangelical groups.” But CEF’s program does not allow any child to participate without parental permission.
Prior to the CEF request, the school district had allowed fliers from the local Jewish community center and the Holy Redeemer Summer Play School without incident.
Greg Baylor, director of the Christian Legal Society Center for Law and Religious Freedom, which filed suit on CEF’s behalf, said school district officials apparently thought that the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause required them to discriminate against the club.
On the contrary, in its June 30 ruling the three-member judicial panel pointed to the free speech clause and other parts of the First Amendment that force the school district to give the Christian club the same treatment that other community groups received. The case will return to Maryland’s federal district court for further proceedings.
Baylor said the CEF vs. Montgomery County Public Schools ruling sends a message to other public school systems around the nation that may not be affording equal access for religious speech.
“Discrimination is going to be challenged and it’s going to be challenged successfully,” he said, adding that the CEF case “affirms the public schools’ important responsibility to respect the diverse religious viewpoints of the community they serve.”
(EP)
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