The Constitution has once again been trampled upon, this time in our own public schools. In late September, a multi-media presentation was given during school assemblies at Biddeford High School and Biddeford Middle School that outwardly promoted Christianity, in direct violation of students’ First Amendment rights.

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is what prohibits the government from promoting religious beliefs or exercise, and courts have repeatedly upheld this right, particularly as it applies to public schools.

This presentation, given by Life Choices Ministry, was a thinly-veiled attempt to promote Christianity to a captive audience of students and it should never have been allowed in these public schools. Thankfully, some parents who still remember the law of the land complained to the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine about the presentation, which led to these schools’ administrators being called out on their decision.

Life Choices Ministry offers a multimedia motivational presentation led by Pastor Debbie Phillips, which speaks to hope and self-respect while also including a graphic account of the Columbine school shooting. Phillips describes in detail the murder of her niece, Rachel Joy Scott, who was a student at Columbine. Several references are made to Scott’s Christian faith, such as “Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,” and saying that Scott was “killed for Christ.”

Footage of murdered high school students, taken from the Columbine massacre, is also shown to students, which may be tolerable for the high school level, but is arguably inappropriate for middle school. The ACLU, in its complaints, noted that the school sent an opt-out form home to parents regarding this assembly, but nowhere on the form was there any mention that the assembly would include religious proselytization, graphic violence or sex education. Even if it had, and parents signed off on it, such an assembly would still be unconstitutional.

Biddeford High School Principal Jeremie Sirois said the program was not promoted as being religious, but as an assembly about tolerance and self-respect. But it’s hard to believe that the school district did not do any due diligence before exposing its students to this presentation. The term “ministry” in the title should have been a red flag, for one thing, and a simple Google search shows that it’s led by a pastor who has preached passionately on Christian values in other venues. The ministry’s mission statement is even described as “bringing the message of abstinence, salvation and the ministry of life” to students across the country.

A simple trip through the Life Choices Ministry website, lifechoicespresents.org, would have shown any administrator that the ministry suggests several Christian faith-based organizations in its section for students. A link for those “struggling with homosexuality” links to the Exodus International, a now-defunct Christian ministry dealing with same-sex attraction. The ministry, which had long promoted “reparative therapy” for those with homosexual tendencies, changed its focus this past summer and issued an apology to gays. Another link goes to First Priority, whose motto is “The Hope of Christ in Every Student” and cites the mission of uniting “the Local Body of Christ to Influence the School with the Gospel,” via Christian students as missionaries. Another link leads to Teen Mania’s honor academy internship program, which espouses a mission to “impact the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Clearly, Life Choices Ministry is a Christian organization, and to think that proselytizing would be left out of the equation during a public school presentation is naive at best.

Students have every right to pray and practice their own religion during school time, from saying grace at meals to convening at the flagpole with a school-day prayer group, but school leaders do not have the right to subject students to a mandatory, school-wide assembly that promotes a religious message.

Whatever our religious beliefs, we must realize that not everyone shares them, and that’s why we all have the protections of the Constitution. Particularly for children who are a captive audience in the public schools, the courts have been more than clear over the years in finding that religious programs presented to students, as well as religious moments or events presided over by a teacher or administrator, are violations of the students’ rights.

Motivational speakers can convey the messages of self-respect, tolerance for others and other shared moral values without bringing religious belief into the equation. We feel the school department was duped into allowing this “ministry” to enter the schools, and hope they do more homework before allowing others to address the student body so that all students, regardless of their beliefs, can feel included and respected in our public schools.

Volk Packaging paid for the assembly to come to Biddeford schools after hosting Pastor Phillips on their radio show. The Biddeford School Department, and all school departments, should be more wary in the future, and consider the motives of those who come bearing gifts.

The ACLU has asked the district to apologize to its students, and we hope they make a point of doing so formally and publicly, and use this experience as a way to educate students on their Constitution and particularly their First Amendment rights. It’s a teachable moment for the administration and students alike, and we hope it’s a lesson learned.

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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.