Only Christians Need Apply For Superintendent Job Says Michigan School District

A school district in northern Michigan has gotten into trouble with the local ACLU for putting out a job posting in which they advertised for candidates who had??a strong Christian background and philosophy.”

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Image Via Wikimedia

The school board–McBain Rural Agricultural School–blamed the mistake on a consultant they were using for the job search process.?Scott Crosby, the consulting group’s regional director, admitted ?poor judgment? on his part, but said the religious reference was not meant to exclude any qualified candidate.

The ACLU’s legal director,?Dan Korobkin, said the posting was clearly a violation of the law:

?Our Constitution wisely requires public schools to remain neutral in matters of religion. When a school favors one religion over another, or religion over non-religion, students and teachers who do not subscribe to the favored religion are made to feel like they do not belong.?

The consulting agency tried to provide cover for the newspaper ad by claiming it merely wanted to represent the??close-knit and conservative? beliefs of the community.

But the ACLU replied that the ad may well have discouraged qualified candidates from applying for the superintendent’s position:

?We wonder how many excellent candidates who are Muslim, Jewish, or not religious read the job description and decided not to apply because they believed they were not wanted.”

While the wording of the ad has been changed to delete the mention of religion, it does lead one to wonder exactly what the real intent of the ad was. Did the consulting group think that a Jewish or Muslim candidate might not be accepted in rural Michigan? Also, is someone’s religious affiliation,or lack thereof, a relevant factor to consider when hiring a person?

While we may have made great strides in America when it comes to accepting those who are different from us, it’s quite obvious we still have many miles to go before we can rest.