9/12/11: Atheists Call for Gideon’s to be Banned from Campus

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One of the nation’s leading atheist organizations is demanding that a Mississippi School District prohibit the distribution of Bibles on school premises.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation is calling on the DeSoto County School District to stop the Gideons from offering Bibles to fifth-grade students at two elementary schools. Annie Gaylor, President of FFRF, says that the DeSoto County Schools are “placing a stamp of approval on the religious messages contained in the Bible” by permitting the Gideons to appear on school campuses.

DeSoto County school officials are reviewing the matter. Federal courts have ruled that schools cannot discriminate against religious groups in the distribution of materials before or after school so long as they allow secular groups to do so.