Will Giles County Become the Epicenter of the Next Great Fight Over Religion in the Public Square?
By Jason Johnson | Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 | PolicyWill tiny Giles County, Virginia become the next battleground in the battle over freedom of religion?
On December 8, 2010, a staff-attorney at the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation sent a letter to Dr. Terry Arbogast, Superintendent of Giles County Public Schools, informing him that the county’s longstanding policy of displaying the Ten Commandments beneath a copy of the U.S. Constitution in each of the county’s public schools violates the very Constitution it is displayed beneath (as interpreted in Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39). The letter continued that
The First Commandment alone makes it obvious why the Ten Commandments may not be posted in public schools. The school has no business telling young children which god they must have, how many gods they must have, or that they must have any god at all.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation sent the letter in response to a complaint it had received about the display in Macy McClaugherty Elementary School. Dr. Arbogast was advised to remove the Ten Commandments from the display and notify the foundation in writing. Nine days after the letter was drafted, fearing the cost of legal action to a small county (population 16,657) like Giles, Dr. Arbogast compiled.
Late last week, the Giles County School Board voted unanimously to restore the Ten Commandments to the display cases of the county’s schools after a heated meeting, attended by over 100 concerned county residents, parents, teachers and clergy. Before the vote, Eric Gentry, chairman of the County Board of Supervisors assured the School Board that the county government would support the School Board if it voted to defy the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s request.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation has stated that it will proceed with legal action against Giles County if a resident of the county asks it to. The Lynchburg-based Liberty Counsel is prepared to defend the county’s policy if a lawsuit is filed. In an interview with Roanoke CBS-affiliate WDBJ-7, Liberty Counsel chairman Matt Staver reaffirmed the important role the Ten Commandments have played in America’s civic history:
The Ten Commandments are clearly home on many public grounds, certainly in courts of law all over America because it has performed a significant influence in shaping the component of American law and government.
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About the author
A lifelong political junkie, Jason caught the political bug as a fifth grader after meeting George Allen in 1993. Since then he has studied political science at both the undergraduate and graduate level. When not perusing the blogs or volunteering for conservative Republicans, Jason enjoys cheering on his beloved Virginia Tech Hokies and spending time at his Bedford County home.
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10 Responses to "Will Giles County Become the Epicenter of the Next Great Fight Over Religion in the Public Square?"
Well this will be ONE way to teach the kids of that school civics. What a great execise.
exercise…
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GO GILES COUNTY!
The Supreme Court has really threaded a needle with this issue. Last time it had major rulings were in 2005, with 2 rulings going 5-4, each in opposite directions.
They drew the line if the 10 commandments were an exercise in displaying historical documents.
I don’t really care if (or if not) a school displays the 10 Cs; I DO care if this great document is banned from school.
Curious … do you think outcome might be different if Giles (or any school board) took a different approach by adding MORE religious documents to the display? Seems like great teachable moments/ opportunities – current events, civics and a brief brush with philosophy and comparative religion. I’m sure there are others, but off the cuff … Buddhism’s Eight Fold Path & the precepts, Zoroastrianism’s “Good thoughts, good words, good deeds”, and the Five Pillars of Islam all seem to teach very similar lessons – my favorite ‘alternative’ is the Native American Ten Commandments:
1. The Earth is our Mother; care for Her
2. Honor all your relations.
3. Open your heart and soul to the Great Spirit.
4. All life is sacred; treat all beings with respect.
5. Take from the Earth what is needed and nothing more.
6. Do what needs to be done for the good of all.
7. Give constant thanks to the Great Spirit for each day.
8. Speak the truth but only for the good in others.
9. Follow the rhythms of Nature.
10. Enjoy life’s journey; but leave no tracks.
Why don’t they just display other ancient laws that influenced legal systems? Sounds like a simple solution to me.
Brian: I think that’s what Giles County is trying to do, but the Constitution and the 10 Commandments don’t really make much of a display of historical documents. In fact, when the commandments were removed, they were replaced by the Declaration of Independence.
Local: I think that’s a great idea…if it’s good enough for the Supreme Court building, it should be good enough for Giles County, plus it would be a good history lesson for the county’s students.
@Jacob,
You’re name calling was at 1:26am shortly after Turbo’s 1:16am post about who you are. As for being a commie, please point out the time stamp where it even eluded to that. The only harsh thing to someone was the DJ comment.
@DJ,
I was just giving you some constructive criticism, getting both sides. See…just helping you out. Maybe if you need to ask whether something is newsworthy…maybe it isn’t. Now, maybe I should have reworded to something like. You’re story selection could’ve been slightly better.
“DJ vetted this information and asked if I found it to be “newsworthy” given the events of the day.”
I gave a ton of events that are happening as we speak. And honestly, the majority of the time, I agree with you…but not this. Let’s just say that I’m a dissenting Bearing Drift reader. Just one…
That happens.
@To the Rest,
Why did Chief Justices miss last night “State of the Union” Prom?
Why are liberal organizations going after the Chief Justices’? Is that the norm and is any of our media crew going to take note and get the word out? Guess not and then another liberal justice gets in…and our second Amendment right will be gone. Read the comments from the four other judges during the McDonald vs. Chicago ruling, they will put a ban on guns.
It’s a shame that liberals stick together and conservatives tear each other apart. I read through my posts and the only thing stated that attacked anyone on this post was DJs selection of stories sucked. Maybe the constant lecturing of the Tea Party is frustrating. I could not find any name calling like for example “bilingual clown.”
Nope. I gave about 20 different facts. Actually, things that are happening but these type of comments is mocked by DJ as conspiracy theory, etc.
Again, just some constructive criticism to help out. Getting both sides of the story aired out.
Even though these outstanding attorney’s from Wisconsin are fighting for the people to exercise their Freedom of Religion. The patrons of Giles County should be able to exercise their right in practicing whatever they wish. As the Constitution applies to the Federal Government, the ten Commandments apply to the citizens.
Seeing that these lines can be marred with the implementation of the Department of Education, these outstanding Wisconsin attorneys’’ deserve to be heard in Virginia.
My recommendation is that these professions should exercise their practice in their own state. Meanwhile, I’m sure our federal tax money is supporting these fine institutions such as Freedom from Religion Foundation and ACLU in their quest to provide the freedoms for all of us Americans…and foreigners.
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