# Lawsuit: Jesus Book Banned in Massachusetts Class **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 30, 2002, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuit-jesus-book-banned-in-massachusetts-class/121472 "2002-07-30T02:24:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuit-jesus-book-banned-in-massachusetts-class/121472/21 "2002-07-31T11:11:40Z")
So, is **december** going to debate his OP, or is this just a troll thread? ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuit-jesus-book-banned-in-massachusetts-class/121472/22 "2002-07-31T13:38:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by squeegee \* > \*\*So, is **december** going to debate his OP, or is this just a troll thread? \*\* **squeegee** , I’m glad to know you care. 😉 If I had the power to judge this, I’d say no part of this is unconstitutional. My interpretation is that this incident neither violates freedom of religion nor violates SOCAS. I deplore both sides for turning the schools into a battleground for their preferred philosophy. It’s hard enough to be a teacher, without the additional burden of worrying about what the ACLU or the Christian Right are going to do. As many others pointed out, it was foolish for the teacher to use this particular assignment. I tend to be forgiving of her. Which of us hasn’t done something foolish at work? It’s regrettable that a tiny foolish action, which could have been dealt with privately by the Principal, has become a messy Constitutional war. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuit-jesus-book-banned-in-massachusetts-class/121472/23 "2002-07-31T20:21:15Z")
> [@](#): > > If I had the power to judge this, I’d say no part of this is unconstitutional. My interpretation is that this incident neither violates freedom of religion nor violates SOCAS. I deplore both sides for turning the schools into a battleground for their preferred philosophy. It’s hard enough to be a teacher, without the additional burden of worrying about what the ACLU or the Christian Right are going to do. > > As many others pointed out, it was foolish for the teacher to use this particular assignment. I tend to be forgiving of her. Which of us hasn’t done something foolish at work? It’s regrettable that a tiny foolish action, which could have been dealt with privately by the Principal, has become a messy Constitutional war. Stop the presses. I agree 100% with **december.** 😉 Seriously. I’m an atheist, and I believe the recent court decision removing “under God” from the (officially defined by federal legislation) Pledge of Allegiance is completely correct. I also think “In God We Trust” shouldn’t be on our money. But I think the teacher overreacted in this case; for a student to bring in a book _about_ his or her Christian practices and share those practices with the class is perfectly all right. No official endorsement is implied. And, of course, the Christian zealots overreacted by blowing this way out of proportion, instead of just quietly re-educating the teacher. “Oh no! The ten percent are again stepping on the necks of us poor oppressed ninety percent!” Gimme a break. **december** ’s choice of terminology – “battleground” – is quite apt. A depressing case, all the way around. ---
**Author:** ![mandielise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@mandielise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandielise)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuit-jesus-book-banned-in-massachusetts-class/121472/24 "2002-08-01T02:52:14Z")
I agree with dreamer when she said that the teacher should have forseen the possibility of religious ideas coming out when she asked about Christmas. My guess is that when the child started reading about Jesus she panicked. This country is so sue-crazy, she probably assumed some atheist’s kid would go to court saying she was promoting a Christian holiday and teaching the Christmas story in a very non-secular way. Basically, the second that little girl started reading about Jesus, the teacher was in trouble! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuit-jesus-book-banned-in-massachusetts-class/121472.md?page=1)