Rather than take legal action, a Kentucky atheist group fought “revelation” with reason in the Casey County School District. When the Gideons group was allowed to distribute Bibles to students, the Tri-State Freethinkers decided to get a little creative and distribute some literature of their own.
Going against the warnings of the ACLU, as well as the law, Superintendent Marion Sowders allowed the religious group Gideons International to hand out New Testament Bibles to students in three elementary schools in his district. While this would be strong grounds for legal action, local atheist group the Tri-State Freethinkers, with the backing of the ACLU, decided to give the religious-right a taste of their own medicine.
The group distributed their own book, Humanism, What’s that?: A Book for Curious Kids by Helen Bennett. It presents children coming from religious households with a concept they might not be aware of: that religious ideas can be questioned. Surprisingly Superintendent Sowders allowed atheists to distribute their book too, perhaps fearing legal recourse if he didn’t.
Some religious parents were outraged, threatening to keep their children from school when the books are made available. Regardless, the district has made no attempt to remove the books. While it’s not exactly separation of church and state at least the students will be allowed to see other sides of the issue, and sometimes that’s all it takes.
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