Non-Profit Challenges Alabama College on Prayers

Alabama community college president’s staff prayers ‘pushing religion,’ group says, AL.com, By William Thorton, September 13, 2023 https://www.al.com/news/2023/09/alabama-community-college-presidents-staff-prayers-pushing-religion-group-says.html?utm_source=ground.news&utm_medium=referral The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.38.4 featuring Kelley Laughlin, Infidel64, The Cross Examiner and Jimmy Jr. What is going on down there in Alabama? Is Alabama just trying to be the poor cousin of Florida or Texas?A Wisconsin-based non-profit, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), has urged Snead State Community College in Alabama to stop holding prayers at staff events and including religious messages in official communications.“A concerned Snead State Community College employee has reported that you have been imposing your personal religious beliefs onto Snead State employees and treating Snead State as a Christian college rather than the secular public college it is,” the letter from Staff Attorney Christopher Line reads. “They feel that they are being forced to bow their head and participate because not doing so would require them to expose their personal beliefs and potentially be subject to retribution.”When the president of the college is leading prayers before meals and meetings, he’s crossed over the line because he represents the school itself. Each year, Joe Whitmore also presents a “guiding bible verse” for the staff. Joe sounds like a lot of fun at parties. Everybody loves a good moralizer.The FFRF contends that such practices violate the First Amendment's establishment clause, calling for government neutrality in matters of religion. The organization has a history of advocacy for separation of church and state, including cases in Alabama.Most people in the USA that don’t think we should keep a separation between religion and government think it's to keep religion out of government. But it was put there for the opposite reason, to keep the government out of religion. Our founders watched as Europe was ablaze with religious wars.Can you imagine the chaos it would cause if the “official national church” changed every 4 to 8 years? You know what, you don’t have to imagine! Just go read some 16th & 17th European history!Snead started out as a religious school in 1898. However, it became part of the Alabama Community college system in 1967. It’s not 1898, not even 1967, it is 2023. Even in Alabama.#statecollege #alabama #secular #atheist #christianity #prayer #god #atheism #secularism #pray #goodwithoutgod #agnostic #humanist #skeptic #godless #freethinker #noreligion #bibleverseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-non-prophets--3254964/support.