Americans United Protests Construction Of Chapel In Ky. Public School.Education officials in Harlan County Harlan County may refer to:
The chapel opened in early April after Don Disney, a retired coal miner, pitched a proposal to create it to Principal Edward Clem. Disney, who serves as chair of the local parents' council, won approval from that body and then solicited area businesses to pay for the furnishings. The chapel is housed in a 9-by-12 former storage closet. It includes a pulpit, an altar and pews adorned a·dorn tr.v. a·dorned, a·dorn·ing, a·dorns 1. To lend beauty to: "the pale mimosas that adorned the favorite promenade" Ronald Firbank. 2. with crosses. The Lord's Prayer was posted on the wall alongside figures of angels. The chapel was dedicated to God during a ceremony attended by clergy and students. About two weeks after the chapel opened, school officials temporarily closed it and removed the prayer from the wall. Johnnie L. Turner, the school board attorney, said he believes the room is now constitutional. "I did a quick inspection, and the only thing I was aware of that would cause a problem is the biblical verse," Turner told the Louisville Courier-Journal. He asserted that the crosses could be the letter T and called their presence in the room "a grayish area. It depends on how you look at them." Turner also called the pews "benches" and said the altar was a "podium podium In architecture, a pedestal on a large scale. It may be any of various elements that form the base of a structure, such as the platform forming the floor and substructure of a Classical temple, a low wall supporting columns, or the structurally or decoratively ." On May 2 Americans United attorneys sent a letter to Harlan County education officials, advising them that chapel is unconstitutional. "The room violates the Constitution because it endorses religion," wrote AU attorney Margaret F. Garrett. "The room contains church pews, which are adorned with crosses, altars and a display of the Lord's Prayer. These furnishings, symbols and holy structures create the atmosphere of a Christian church and send the message that the school prefers Christianity to other religions and to non-religion. As a result, the existence of the room is unconstitutional." The American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. of Kentucky has voiced similar concerns. The ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. is already involved in litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. in Harlan County, contesting the display of the Ten Commandments Ten Commandments or Decalogue [Gr.,=ten words], in the Bible, the summary of divine law given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They have a paramount place in the ethical system in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. at the courthouse. |
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