The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has charged that a Tennessee school's Christmas program was “an illegal activity” and is seeking to have it declared unconstitutional.
The ACLU said it was against the law for kindergarten students at a Wilson County elementary school to act in a Nativity scene and sing "Away in the Manger" and "Joy to the World." The group is arguing that teachers and other school officials caused harm to a student with “Christian themes and songs.” In fact, the ACLU said the child “suffered irreparable damage.”
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which is representing school officials, called the suit “outrageous.”
“In their never-ending quest to completely eradicate all things religious from public life,” he said, “the ACLU’s latest lawsuit is an all-out frontal attack on the freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion.”
School programs that include a live Nativity scene and Christian-themed songs are common throughout the U.S. and around the world. Thousands of school students will be participating in similar programs this year.
“We are standing with the school officials in Wilson County and with concerned students and parents," Sekulow said. “We are not going to sit back and let the ACLU, the Ghost of Christmas Past, remove the joy and significance of this holiday season.”
The ACLJ has launched a nationwide campaign, called Keep HIM in Christmas, to defend the rights of Americans to engage in free speech during the Christmas season.
