A Kentucky high school has been forced to paint over a Bible verse on the wall of a locker room following a complaint from leading atheist pressure group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).
Letcher Central High School in Whitesburg, Kentucky, had previously emblazoned a paraphrase of Jeremiah 20:11 on its wall, reading: “But the Lord is with me like a Mighty Warrior.”
Before long, the wall painting was targeted by FFRF, who immediately wrote to the superintendent, requesting that it be removed at once. The group also pointed out a bulletin board that contained the declaration: “Jesus is my Savior, You Can’t Scare Me.”
In both letters issued to the district, FFRF asked administrators to “remove all religious messaging and iconography from public school property in recognition of its constitutional obligation to remain neutral towards religion,” according to the group.
In response, the superintendent of Letcher County Public Schools, Denise Yonts, confirmed that the displays had been removed. “The bulletin board has been replaced..and the locker room has been repainted,” she wrote in a letter to FFRF.
In a letter dated November 9, FFRF staff attorney Christopher Line argued that the district “violates the Constitution when it allows its schools to display religious symbols or messages.”
“Public schools may not advance, prefer, or promote religion,” Line added. “This [locker room] display, as well as the previously reported displays, violate this basic constitutional prohibition by creating the appearance that the District prefers religion over nonreligion and Christianity over all faiths.”
In response to the latest action, FFRF’s co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said: “We applaud the district for taking action to remedy this violation. Students in our public schools are free to practice any religion they choose — or none at all.”