Civil Libertarians for Christ in the Public Schools

Even the Illinois American Civil Liberties Union thinks it's all right for public schools to have Christian Christmas carols in school activities, according to this article in today's Chicago Tribune. "Christmas songs about Christ are fine at this time of year, [IACLU] spokesman Ed Yohnka said," the Tribune story noted.

But not all the news is good: a local suburban Chicago school, in a decision representative of policies in many schools across the nation, sponsored last week a very "inclusive" Chrismas celebration that entirely excluded any mention of Jesus Christ, as documented in the Tribune story mentioned above. Some muscular local Christians quickly raised a fuss, led by the Illinois Family Institute working with the national Alliance Defense Fund, and although the school's district superintendent denied any intent behind the omission and "said his teachers did nothing wrong this year," he added that "he would review the holiday programs next year to make sure Christians are not perceived to be slighted," according to the Tribune report.

It's interesting to see that the people we hire to run our public schools are more radical about excluding religion than even the local ACLU chapter is. As the Illinois Family Institute and Alliance Defense Fund have observed, it is essential that the public hold these people accountable for their actions and make sure that their programs and curricula truly reflect the beliefs of the persons who pay for this vital and highly expensive public service.