Note to Newt: Student prayer and Bibles were allowed at Columbine

Church & State, Jul/Aug 1999

In the wake of the tragic shooting at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colo., several politicians and Religious Right leaders claimed that all prayer and religious activities have been expelled from America's public schools and only their reintroduction will prevent similar occurrences in the future.

That assertion has just been unmasked as specious by the people who ought to know best: the staff at Columbine High.

Associated Baptist Press contacted officials at the school in June and asked them about student religious expression at Columbine. Marilyn Saltzman, a school spokeswoman, told ABP, "We honor the separation of church and state, but we do not believe that any mention of religion is prohibited. Students are certainly allowed to read the Bible and have a Bible in [their] possession."

Saltzman added that school officials do not promote religion, but they also do not interfere with students who want to pray before a test, write an essay about God for class or join after-school Bible clubs.

Several Religious Right leaders and politicians made baseless charges about religion in public schools following the April 20 Columbine shootings. Pat Buchanan said on CNN that "God and the Ten Commandments and all moral instruction have been removed" from public schools. Buchanan asserted that had killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into school with Bibles, they would have been taken "to the principal's office."

Recently former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has picked up this drumbeat. Speaking to the Republican Women Leaders Forum on May 12, Gingrich said, "We have had a 35-year experiment in a unionized, bureaucratic, credentialed, secular assault on the core values of this country. We should not be surprised, therefore, that eventually this would yield bad fruit - because the seeds were bad. For 35 years, God has been driven out of the classroom. We have seen the result in a secular, atheistic system in which God is not allowed to exist."

Continued Gingrich, "For 35 years, bureaucratic, credentialed unions have driven knowledge out of the classrooms....

Gingrich's charges drew a rebuke from syndicated columnist Tom Teepen. "It must come as news to God that he's kaput," observed Teepen. "Gingrich says (wrongly) that students are not being taught the Declaration of Independence because (wrongly II) the word 'Creator' is in it. All this in reference again to Columbine, though it is clear to anyone who has been paying attention that Littleton is a thoroughly churched town. Its students refer often and easily to God, Jesus and faith. Gingrich seems to doubt their sincerity."

Concluded Teepen, "Gingrich's political tent is very much open for business again, and he's hammering home the ideological wedges that have always been his tent stakes."

Meanwhile, legislators in several states are using the Columbine tragedy as an excuse to interject religion into public schools, including:

South Carolina: Sen. Mike Fair has introduced a measure that would require public schools to allow chaplains to lead weekly 30-minute religious sessions on campus. The Greenville Republican told the Columbia State that the proposal is especially needed in light of the Columbine shootings.

Nevada: Legislators are considering a bill that would allow prayer meetings and chaplains on campus. Critics say the measure is unnecessary, since public school students can already form religious clubs under the federal Equal Access Act. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Maurice Washington, a Sparks Republican and minister, said he wants the door open to having chaplains in schools. "The program works the same as in the military," said Washington. "Individuals turn to them looking for consultation, wisdom or guidance."

Alaska: The state Senate approved a measure calling on Congress to allow prayer in public schools. Critics said the measure was unnecessary since prayer is already permitted, but the sponsor of the resolution, Sen. Jerry Ward (RAnchorage), argued to the contrary. "If there's a vacancy of God, then I think Satan is there," he said. The measure passed 16-4.

Louisiana: The state legislature has approved a bill allowing vocal prayer in public schools. The House of Representatives passed H.B. 2123 unanimously, and the Senate passed it by a 30-4 vote June 11. The measure deletes the word "silent" from a provisional state law that says children may pray in schools. The bill is pending before Gov. Mike Foster (R).

Advocates of school-sponsored prayer also tried to change state law to allow referendums so they could put the issue before the voters but failed. During the debate on that measure, Rep. Naomi Farve (D-New Orleans) warned lawmakers that the state could suffer dire consequences if a prayer bill were not passed. "If we are afraid to stand up for God, when all the storms and hurricanes come, He will turn his back on us," Farve said.

Marty Fowler Beasley, a member of the Lincoln Parish School Board, said she supports school-sponsored prayer even if members of minority religions are opposed to it. "I think we can allow [a student] to say what he wishes...whether or not we're stepping on the toes of someone Jewish or Buddhist," Beasley said.