Atheism win: A portrait depicting the bizarrely Irish version of Jesus Christ has been removed from the hallway of Jackson Middle School after several weeks of controversy. Due to the pressuring of watchdog groups who enforce the separation of church and state, the school had no choice but to remove the religious idol from display after decisions rested on the financial liability it posed. As of April 4, 2013, this goes down as a definite win for those who honor the United States Constitution and the laws that prohibit public schools from promoting religions.
Both ACLU and the Freedom from Religion Foundation initiated the lawsuit on the behalf of a student and two parents who cited that the portrait was an unconstitutional promotion of the Christian religion. This is federally illegally and fundamentally unacceptable. It's not only a win for atheism that they didn't back down, but for America and the liberty of all who are citizens of it. Imagine had this been some other religious imagery such as a Wiccan pentacle or some imagery relative to Islam. The Christian majority would likely be up in arms about it!
Currently an ACLU representative acknowledges that there is no reason to continue with the lawsuit against the Ohio school because the Jesus portrait has been removed. However, if it goes back up the lawsuit will undoubtedly be re-initiated and probably remain active regardless of what the school does afterward.
Naturally there are people who are angered by the removal of the Jesus portrait, as it is seen as the school kowtowing to atheists. Nonetheless, leaving the portrait up would be a violation of federal law and the constitutional rights of students who are required to attend this public middle school.
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