Did you have any idea that our first President believed that government required God and the Bible in order to function? And are you familiar with the following quote from President Ronald Reagan? “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” Chances are you haven’t heard of either of these – because they’re both fiction. George Washington is better categorized as a Deist (rather than a traditional Christian), and Reagan never made such a statement about the Bible.
It’s part of a strange indoctrination strategy at a small school district in eastern Texas. On the walls of the school hallways and classrooms are many such alleged “passages” from the Bible and “statements” attributed to prominent figures in American history that all are inaccurate, misquoted, taken out of context, and even made up out of whole cloth. All of this came to light recently because of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).
The FFRF wrote a letter demanding that the Mount Vernon Independent School District (MSISD) remove such quotes on grounds that they are in violation of the US Constitution’s Establishment Clause: “Courts have continually held that public school districts may not endorse religious messages, including text taken from the bible. [The] MVISD is a public school district and its schools should not be in the business of advancing Christianity by displaying bible quotes on district property.”
Besides, the quotes are misleading, erroneous, and in many cases, complete fabrication. According to FFRF attorney Samuel Grover: “The district cannot even fall back on the argument that these quotes have educational merit, given the many examples of misquotes, misattributions, and entirely fraudulent quotes displayed on its walls…The district sets a poor example for its students if it cannot be bothered to fact check the messages it chooses to endorse.”
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TX Public School Posts Made Up Quotes from Reagan, Bible, George Washington to Promote Christianity