Education

Kentucky HS Scrubs Bible Verse From Locker After Backlash From Atheist Group

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Katie Jerkovich Entertainment Reporter
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A Kentucky high school has opted to remove a bible verse from its athletic locker room following a backlash from a “concerned area resident.”

In bold letters on the wall of the Letcher County Central High School locker room the inspirational message read, “But the Lord is with me like a Mighty Warrior,” along with attribution to Jeremiah 20:11. However, as of last month it has been removed by school officials, per Fox News in a piece published Wednesday. (RELATED: Community College Sued After Arresting Students For Distributing Constitutions)

At Fleming Neon Middle School another message on a bulletin board was scrubbed that read, “Jesus is my savior You can’t scare me!” And a prayer for children on the Martha Jane Potter Elementary School’s Facebook page was removed. (RELATED: Students Sue School District Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Bible Ban)

According to the report the prayer read:

Dear God, Thank you for the gift of education in every form. As our children prepare to start a new year may confidence be their foundation, may grace be their guide and may hope be their compass toward a bright future. I pray they would have eyes to see the needs of those around them and a heart to love well. May they face each day with positivity knowing that no matter what comes their way, they do not have to face it alone. Amen.

It all started after the Letcher County Public Schools in Whitesburg, Kentucky, received a letter from The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) in which the group claimed the locker message along with two other religious messages at other schools in the district, “violates the Constitution” by displaying “religious symbols or messages.”

“We applaud the district for taking action to remedy this violation,” Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president of the Wisconsin-based atheist group, shared in a statement. “Students in our public schools are free to practice any religion they choose — or none at all.”

However, the religious freedom law firm, First Liberty Institute, that successfully defended the Bladensburg Peace Cross at the Supreme Court, said the district’s “drastic step” might have come too soon.

“It is unfortunate that the school took such a drastic step before fully vetting the complaint and doing a proper investigation of the background facts,” Hiram Sasser, general counsel for First Liberty explained. “It may be the case that the school committed a First Amendment violation by erasing the messages, but until a full investigation is done, it’s impossible to know the correct legal course.”