Robert Basevitz is the plaintiff in a suit against Fremont, Colorado Re-2 School District and Florence High School. Basevitz claims that the school and the administration acted
?in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.?
Among other violations, Basevitz? lawsuit contends that an ?all-school? assembly was held that was
?based off the scripture of Matthew 7:13.? The assembly was introduced by Principal (Brian) Schipper and scripture was presented to staff and students on a large projection screen…afterwards, students met one-on-one with members of the (Todd Becker) Foundation who shared ‘with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and (pointed) them to the hope of a new beginning found in Christ.’ During these individual meetings, students were then ?introduced to a local individual, pastor, or youth leader.? (paragraph 19, page 6/7)
Basevitz is seeking damages for being singled out as a practicing Jew, and he is seeking litigation fees in his suit, dated April 25, 2015.
How Would Jesus Pray?
Jesus stated that a person should pray in secret, but this scripture, found in Matthew 6, is not held as evidence that one should not pray in public in the evangelical community. It is simply held as an instruction to pray with sincerity.
Jesus may not have said anything about prayer in schools, but Randy Pfaff, pastor of the ?The Cowboy Church at Crossroads,? which holds its weekly meetings at Florence High School, thinks that Christianity should be practiced in the classroom.
In a phone call interview with ?The Denver Post,? Pfaff stated,
“I don’t believe the constitution was meant to keep God out of the schools. That’s absolutely absurd…This nation was founded on Christianity.”
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution aside, one can look to the Colorado Constitution.
Article IX, Section 8 of the Colorado Constitution states the following:
?No religious test or qualification shall ever be required of any person as a condition of admission into any public educational institution of the state, either as a teacher or student; and no teacher or student of any such institution shall ever be required to attend or participate in any religious service whatsoever? (emphasis added).
One Facebook commenter summarized the debate:
?If Florence citizens are willing to allow a Christian pastor to use school grounds to conduct prayer rituals and religious studies, then they MUST ALSO allow Muslim imams to do the same, or Wiccan priestesses…and when they do, will they be granted this same level of access to students and school property? And are the Christian parents in Florence prepared for the fact that they’ll HAVE to say ?yes??
More simply asked, are those in favor of Christian activities at FHS also in favor of Muslim or Buddhist or whatever activities at FHS? My guess is a big no.?
See You at the Pole
Pfaff allegedly maintains practices of praying with students around the school’s front entrance, more commonly known as ?See You at the Pole,? though usually, this event is held once per year. On two separate occasions, Basevitz could not enter the school without disrupting the morning meetings of Pfaff’s church.
