Distribution of Bibles During School Hours
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For several years, the South Iron R-1 School District in Missouri allowed Gideons International to distribute Bibles to fifth-grade students during class time. Americans United for Separation of Church and State brought suit against the school district, bringing an end to this practice.
In 2009, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis upheld a lower court ruling that found the South Iron district's distribution of Bibles to the schoolchildren in their classrooms was unconstitutional. But the court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the district can enact a new policy permitting "any printed material" approved by the superintendent to be distributed outside classroom time.
The tradition of handing out small Gideon New Testaments continues in many British secondary schools. The British state school system has far less of a separation between church and state compared to the American example above (e.g., Christian prayers and hymns often take place in school assemblies). While a criminal or civil prosecution of the Gideons has yet to take place on this basis, some schools have banned the Gideon group. The Upland Unified School District allows the Gideons to distribute Bibles outside of its school premises after school.
Read more about this topic: Gideons International
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