ClydeR
02-01-2009, 04:07 PM
An assistant librarian at a public school in Virginia is suing the school because the school refuses to discriminate against the school's Christian employees.
The Times reports that Ms. Scott was asked by her supervisor whether that unnamed person could "pray for her" and she complied out of a sense of pressure. She later declined to attend a religious conference with faculty members and was deluged by them with Christian-themed DVDs and audiotapes upon their return.
"The suit alleges that the supervisor would dim the library's lights, hold prayer meetings, 'anoint' the premises and 'lay hands' on those present. The supervisor would also leave 'praise' sticky notes and daily Bible verses around for Scott to see."
The Times goes on to describe the pressure put on Scott to practice Christianity in what became a hostile work environment. It never explains whether Ms. Scott is a nonbeliever or a believer of a different faith. But she clearly put up with a huge amount of religious harassment before she filed her lawsuit.
She took her case first to the assistant school board superintendent and was offered a transfer to another facility. But she stood her ground and said she wanted to continue working as a media aid assistant right where she was, as she had done nothing wrong. That takes guts! When her contract ended and it was not renewed, she claimed she was, in essence, fired in retaliation for her complaints.
President Bush's eight-year tenure, in which religion formed and misformed federal laws, trumped science in federal policy, and may even have been partly responsible for launching an unsuccessful war, allowed situations such as Ms. Scott's to flourish throughout the land. This is hardly the only way in which the Bush presidency took us back 50 years. It is, however, a dominant theme of his tenure, as is the takeover of the Republican Party by the religious right.
More... (http://www.usnews.com/mobile/blogs/erbe/2009/1/28/obama-bush-and-a-first-amendment-heroine-in-virginia.html)
If the school had accommodated this one librarian, then it would have been discriminating against the majority of its employees.
The Times reports that Ms. Scott was asked by her supervisor whether that unnamed person could "pray for her" and she complied out of a sense of pressure. She later declined to attend a religious conference with faculty members and was deluged by them with Christian-themed DVDs and audiotapes upon their return.
"The suit alleges that the supervisor would dim the library's lights, hold prayer meetings, 'anoint' the premises and 'lay hands' on those present. The supervisor would also leave 'praise' sticky notes and daily Bible verses around for Scott to see."
The Times goes on to describe the pressure put on Scott to practice Christianity in what became a hostile work environment. It never explains whether Ms. Scott is a nonbeliever or a believer of a different faith. But she clearly put up with a huge amount of religious harassment before she filed her lawsuit.
She took her case first to the assistant school board superintendent and was offered a transfer to another facility. But she stood her ground and said she wanted to continue working as a media aid assistant right where she was, as she had done nothing wrong. That takes guts! When her contract ended and it was not renewed, she claimed she was, in essence, fired in retaliation for her complaints.
President Bush's eight-year tenure, in which religion formed and misformed federal laws, trumped science in federal policy, and may even have been partly responsible for launching an unsuccessful war, allowed situations such as Ms. Scott's to flourish throughout the land. This is hardly the only way in which the Bush presidency took us back 50 years. It is, however, a dominant theme of his tenure, as is the takeover of the Republican Party by the religious right.
More... (http://www.usnews.com/mobile/blogs/erbe/2009/1/28/obama-bush-and-a-first-amendment-heroine-in-virginia.html)
If the school had accommodated this one librarian, then it would have been discriminating against the majority of its employees.