Dear Roxie,
At Family Research Council, we are all too familiar with the growing problem of infringement on religious liberties in public schools.
Every day, we hear more and more reports of where the Left's radical agenda is undermining family values. Perhaps none is more alarming than the battle for the hearts and minds of our kids taking place in our nation's schools.
But for one elementary school teacher in Virginia, the call to teach and inform kids also includes a focus on the Bible.
Hannah Sailsbury was prayer-walking around her school one day when she prayed specifically that "Jesus' name would be mentioned in the classrooms and hallways."
Later, she noticed a student reading an old Bible that he checked out of the school library. She felt compelled to donate a copy of The Action Story Book Bible -- an engaging picture book Bible -- to each of the elementary school libraries in her county. All 38 elementary schools accepted the Bibles and placed them on their shelves.
Hannah's mission to place Bibles throughout her school district has led to the founding of Bibles in Schools, a non-profit organization that has donated Bibles to elementary, middle, and high school libraries and classrooms in 18 counties in Virginia and seven other states.
As a result, students are now engaging with others about what they are learning from God's word, and more teachers are also placing the Bible on their classroom shelves.
Hannah wants to remind people who want to join her in her mission, "It's totally legal." Her website breaks down the religious rights of students, teachers, and parents with the headline, "Know your rights, and let's USE them!"
Because of one woman's willingness to live out her faith boldly, this is now a movement -- and it's having a ripple effect.
You have read the Scripture that says that God "appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them... so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments" (Psalm 78:5-7, ESV). This doesn't happen by accident.
Will you support FRC's "In God We Trust" campaign?
Your tax-deductible donation will enable us to educate and advocate on behalf of students, teachers, and parents on their constitutional right to live out their faith in their school.
Hannah Sailsbury's story demonstrates what can happen through simple acts of prayer and obedience. But we have also witnessed how the reverse can happen when religious expression is prohibited.
For decades, the Left has been infiltrating America's education system to undermine the biblical worldview and indoctrinate the next generation into a progressive, anti-Christian ideology.
Atheists, humanists, and other secularists have used the courts to remove Christian symbols, monuments, and other expressions of Christian faith from America's public institutions.
In many ways, it seems as if their efforts have succeeded.
Attorney General William Barr warned in his recent speech at Notre Dame University, "We cannot have a moral renaissance unless we succeed in passing to the next generation our faith and values in full vigor. The times are hostile to this. Public agencies, including public schools, are becoming secularized and increasingly are actively promoting moral relativism."
As Christians, we must not neglect our cultural commission to influence and reach the next generation where over 90 percent of students in America attend public schools.
And according to a survey conducted by the Barna Group, nearly half of the nation's public educators are church-attending Christians -- people who value the role of faith in their life. We must encourage and stand with them.
This is why our "In God We Trust" campaign is so important! Your partnership with FRC will help fund our efforts to impact schools in your community and all across America.
In 1956, "In God We Trust" became the National Motto of the United States under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. A year prior to that, federal law required that the phrase be printed on all American currency.
Today, numerous states have passed laws requiring "In God We Trust" to be displayed in public school buildings. Kentucky, Louisiana, and South Dakota are the most recent states to pass this law for the 2019-2020 school year.
In Louisiana, this recent legislation received unanimous support on both sides of the aisle. The law requires that schools also teach students about the history of the National Motto.
Democratic state senator Regina Barrow sponsored the bill, stating, "...it's really important that we ensure that young people understand the patriotic history of our country..."
This push by states to not only display the "In God We Trust" motto but also teach its history is a step in the right direction for religious liberty.
There are 13,506 school districts in America -- representing millions of Christian educators, students, and their families. Join FRC in supporting the students, parents, and teachers who seek to acknowledge Jesus as Lord in our schools.
Secularists and progressives have created a battleground over religious freedom in our educational institutions. But as more teachers, students, and parents lead in their communities -- pushing back against the intolerant Left -- more people will follow.
Thank you for standing with us to promote religious freedom in our nation by declaring, "In God We Trust!"
