Aimee Maddonna, 34, a South Carolina mother of three, was turned away by a state-funded foster care agency because she is Catholic.
Maddonna went to Miracle Hill Ministries in Greenville, the state’s largest foster care outlet, asking to volunteer in hopes of one day becoming a foster parent. But the initial screening was cut short after she was asked the name of her church.
The Bible is certainly worthy of study for its literary and historic importance. Indeed, the Supreme Court asserted that in its landmark 1963 Abington ruling, which outlawed the practice of public schools reading the Bible as part of morning prayers. Academic study, though, is clearly not the aim of conservative Christian activists who have undertaken a nationwide push for Bible classes in public schools.
Activists on the religious right, through their legislative effort Project Blitz, drafted a law that encourages Bible classes in public schools and persuaded at least 10 state legislatures to introduce versions of it this year. Georgia and Arkansas recently passed bills that are awaiting their governors’ signatures.
Legislators across the country have reignited the fight for, and debate over so-called "Bible literacy classes" -- elective courses in public schools about Scriptures' impact. Alabama, Florida, Missouri, North Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia are among the states that have seen Bible literacy bills so far in 2019.
Missouri could soon join a wave of other states requiring local schools to display the words “In God We Trust.” In a House education committee Tuesday, lawmakers debated a proposal by Rep. Dean Dohrman that is modeled on legislation already adopted in Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama and Arizona.
BlitzWatch is a project of national civil rights groups committed to equality under the law for Americans of all religious beliefs and none, LGBTQ Americans, and anyone whose rights are under attack by religious extremists.
