Section:
News
PHOTO BY BOBBY ROSS JR.
Religious Freedom in Public Schools - Students from Mauldin Middle School in Simpsonville, S.C., pray during a "Released Time" Bible study at the Holland Park Church of Christ, across the street from the public school.
Religious Freedom in Public Schools - Students from Mauldin Middle School in Simpsonville, S.C., pray during a "Released Time" Bible study at the Holland Park Church of Christ, across the street from the public school.
SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. - Eight middle school students gather around a classroom table at the Holland Park Church of Christ.
Teacher Becky Mays asks if anyone has a prayer request.
“My grandma,” one student says.
“My uncle,” another says. “He might be paralyzed.”
“My dad because he lost his job a while back,” a third student adds. “He’s still going through a hard time.”
This is no extraordinary scene, except that these are not Sunday school pupils.
Instead, they are students from the public school across the street, studying the Bible during the regular school day on a Friday — and it’s totally constitutional.
The Christian Learning Centers of Greenville County — a nonprofit organization directed by Janice Butler, a member of the Holland Park church — provides “Released Time” Bible instruction to more than 1,800 students in 20 public elementary, middle and high schools.
As Butler explains, “Released Time is time during the school day when public school students are released from school, with parental consent, to receive biblical instruction.”
Teacher Becky Mays asks if anyone has a prayer request.
“My grandma,” one student says.
“My uncle,” another says. “He might be paralyzed.”
“My dad because he lost his job a while back,” a third student adds. “He’s still going through a hard time.”
This is no extraordinary scene, except that these are not Sunday school pupils.
Instead, they are students from the public school across the street, studying the Bible during the regular school day on a Friday — and it’s totally constitutional.
The Christian Learning Centers of Greenville County — a nonprofit organization directed by Janice Butler, a member of the Holland Park church — provides “Released Time” Bible instruction to more than 1,800 students in 20 public elementary, middle and high schools.
As Butler explains, “Released Time is time during the school day when public school students are released from school, with parental consent, to receive biblical instruction.”
MORE TO THE STORY
Related Stories:
NEWSLETTER
ADVERTISEMENTS
ADVERTISEMENTS
