President Bush declared Tuesday Religious Freedom Day -- a celebration of the liberties that come with citizenship.
"On Religious Freedom Day, we commemorate the passage of the 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, authored by Thomas Jefferson," Bush said. "We celebrate the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom."
Eric Buehrer, president of Gateways to Better Education (GTBE), said Americans are blessed with tremendous freedom to express their faith.
"In light of this blessing," he said, "it is the duty of every church to inform the children and youth in its care about the freedom they have to express their faith at school."
Buehrer wants every Sunday school class and youth group to have a copy of the presidential proclamation, along with a copy of GTBE's handout Free to Speak.
"Give students five extra copies of Free to Speak and tell them to give them to five other Christian friends they know on campus," he said.
Parents, teachers and school administrators can also have a tremendous impact, Buehrer said. After Bernadette Gruber's first-grade son was told he couldn't talk about God, she used GTBE material to educate the entire district.
"Last year my son's first grade class was doing a Martin Luther King, Jr. activity," she related. "The teacher went around the room and asked each student what their dream was and then wrote it on the board. When it came to my son, he said his dream was 'that people would know God.' The teacher said, 'Let's not talk about God,' and made him change his dream."
Gruber went to school officials and pressed them to become familiar with student rights. The assistant superintendent gave a presentation to all staff about religious freedom that ultimately benefited more than 10,000 Tucson, Ariz., students.
Patty Lingenfelter heard about Religious Freedom Day through her Moms In Touch International group.
"I was surprised when Eric (Buehrer) shared how California Curriculum Standards and the educational code expect children to be taught about the Judeo-Christian faith and its integral role in the founding of our country," she said. "We simply aren’t aware of our freedoms; and those of which we are aware, we often take for granted."
Many educators, Lingenfelter found, were also unaware of these standards and feared being politically incorrect.
"I took it to moms who were praying with me weekly," she said.
Then Lingenfelter took action. She passed out materials from GTBE to family, friends, church members and officials of the Hesperia Unified School District (HUSD) in California.
"I sent a letter informing her (assistant superintendent) on the history of Religious Freedom Day, the presidential proclamations, and requesting that HUSD join the president in acknowledging the day, thereby enhancing students' civic education," she said. "Our request was granted!"
The district will be distributing information about Religious Freedom Day to principals along with the presidential proclamations and ideas for educators from the Religious Freedom Day Web site.
"I hope this will encourage other schools, churches and parents to learn more about our religious freedoms," Lingenfelter said, "resulting in more courage to exercise them."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
You can learn more about religious liberty at school on the Gateways to Better Education Web site.
Find Free to Speak at the Religious Freedom Day Web site.
(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)
