‘Awesome God’ OK in talent show, judge rules

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey school district violated the constitutional rights of a second-grade student in 2005 when it prevented her from performing the song "Awesome God" at a talent show, a federal district judge ruled Dec. 11, 2006.

The girl, known only as "O.T." in the lawsuit, was prevented from singing the popular contemporary Christian song at the Frenchtown (N.J.) Elementary School after-school program when the district attorney and school superintendent said the song’s religious content was inappropriate for the event. Previous talent shows had included students singing songs by Nirvana, Bon Jovi and Stevie Nicks.

Allowing "Awesome God" into the program — known as Frenchtown Idol — would have violated the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against government establishment of religion, the attorney asserted. But U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson disagreed, saying the school’s action amounted to viewpoint discrimination and violated the girl’s First Amendment rights.

"Frenchtown Idol was not part of the school curriculum, but was, instead, a voluntary after-school event in which students were invited — not required — to participate," Wolfson wrote. "Frenchtown Idol participants were obligated to select their own pieces for the performance, and to develop and rehearse them at home. … [T]he speech at issue here — a song selected and performed by an individual student — was the private speech of a student and not a message conveyed by the school itself."