Orange County high school student, Chad Farnan, has won a lawsuit in which the court ruled Friday against a teacher who was shown to often use his classroom to attack Christian thought.
In the Farnan v. Capistrano Unified School District case, Farnan, a sophomore at Capistrano Valley High School at the time, stated that his Advanced Placement European History teacher, Dr. James Corbett spends a good portion of each lecture attacking Christianity and other religions.
Farnan, who said he often prayed for his teacher, taped a lecture by Corbett in which he stated that “when you put on your Jesus glasses, you can’t see the truth.”
The judge in the case held that Corbett did violate an establishment clause by stating “an unequivocal belief that creationism is ’superstitious nonsense,’” according to a press release from the group defending Farnan. The court went on to hold that Corbett’s statement “constitutes improper disapproval of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause.”
The Advocates For Faith and Freedom Law group’s statement on the case:
In reviewing hours of statements by Dr. Corbett, we believe he is violating the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution by attacking religion, particularly Christianity, and creating a hostile environment for religious students. We have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to have the teacher removed from teaching this class and to establish precedent that will put teachers on notice that attacking students’ religious beliefs in class is a violation of law.
Following our filing of the First Amended Complaint, the School District and teacher filed a motion to dismiss the case. In opposing the School District, Advocates emphasized the need to interpret the First Amendment in such a way that protects Chad’s right to attend class without being constantly barraged with the teacher’s anti-Christian sentiments.
The Judge denied the School District’s motion to dismiss. Subsequently, the California Teachers Association filed a motion with the Court seeking to intervene on behalf of the School District and Dr. Corbett. The judge has permitted the intervention. Both sides filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the Court to rule in their favor. On May 1, 2009, the Court issued rendered a first-of-its-kind decision in Chad’s favor.
The Orange County Register reports that the decision is the culmination of a 16-month legal battle between Corbett and Farnan – a conflict the judge said should remind teachers of their legal “boundaries” as public school employees.
More from the Register story:
"Corbett states an unequivocal belief that Creationism is 'superstitious nonsense,'" U.S. District Court Judge James Selna said in a 37-page ruling released from his Santa Ana courtroom. "The court cannot discern a legitimate secular purpose in this statement, even when considered in context."
In a December 2007 lawsuit, Farnan, then a sophomore, accused Corbett of repeatedly promoting hostility toward Christians in class and advocating "irreligion over religion" in violation of the First Amendment's establishment clause.
The establishment clause prohibits the government from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion" and has been interpreted by U.S. courts to also prohibit government employees from displaying religious hostility.
Farnan's lawsuit had cited more than 20 inflammatory statements attributed to Corbett, according to the Register story, including "Conservatives don't want women to avoid pregnancies – that's interfering with God's work" and "When you pray for divine intervention, you're hoping that the spaghetti monster will help you get what you want."
In a Web site Farnan setup to tell his side of the story, he previously wrote: “This was not an easy thing for me to do. As my family and I listened to the tapes of Dr. Corbett and his anti-christian views, we prayed for him everyday and hoped that he would stop.”
Video: Chad Farnan interview after court victory
Story originally published in The Scrooge Report.
Comments
I am an atheist, but I agree with the court's decision. This was a violation of the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution and Dr. Corbett should have kept his opinions on religious verity out of a public school classroom. Though the majority of Establishment Clause violation cases involve the injection of religion into places it doesn't belong, turnabout is indeed fair play.
@Kramer...Thanks for commenting! To an even greater degree...it could also be classified as hate speech.
This is an amazing story. Let his life be an example to all of us. Praise the Lord!
@Mikes...yes, another 'stand up!' story!
So now science teachers have to respect the opinions of ignorant students who insist on substituting superstition for proven science.
"The Bible says the sun orbits the earth! You have to respect my belief or I'll sue you!"
Idiocracy, here we come.
Wow...I hadn't even heard this story! It's a fine line teaching and also keeping your religious views out. but he didn't even do that. He took it another step by cutting down others faith in God, so I definitely agree with the court. Thanks for the article Alex
ROFLMAO!!!! I think the teacher was way out of line and deserves to be fired. If there is anything I can't stand it's an arrogant athiest proselytiser being paid a union salary by the government! But we also need to get rid of the Wyldlife Club and other Christian adult proselytizers who are routinely tolerated at Orange County public school campuses. The Christian family that filed this lawsuit is going to rue the day they won, because the principle they established is going to limit state sanctioned Christian proselytizing at school more than any other faith, as Christian proselytising is the major constitutional infirmity at most Orange County public schools. Goodbye Christmas parties. Goodbye Easter eggs. Goodbye Wyldlife Club. Good riddance. Schools should teach the 3 Rs and stay out of religion.
I wonder this: Where is the room in all of this for intellectual investigation and honest disagreement? I absolutely disagree that teachers should keep their opinions to themselves, as long as they invite debate and are certain all sides have the opportunity to make their case. I thought discourse was what teaching and learning were all about...or were all those ancient Greeks--the ones who gave us philosophy and logic and lots more--wrong? I rarely agreed with everything my teachers said, in high school,college or grad school. But I never once felt compelled to pray for them; if they'd wanted prayers, they'd have asked. To pray for them unbidden is a violation of their right to privacy. It's is incredibly arrogant. And I never once felt I had to sue a teacher who expressed beliefs in conflict with my own. How ridiculous would that have been? All I had to do was ignore the comments and go about my business.
What if that teacher's opinions had been about baseball and he favored a team the student body disliked? Would that be wrong? Or is this just wrong because it is religion? By making an individual teacher's personal religious opinions, no matter where they are expressed, an issue in the church-state debate, what they're basically saying is that the teacher IS the state (in this case, oddly enough, imposing non-religious views) when a student prefers religious views. It boggles the mind how anyone can contend that Dr. Corbett, the atheist, is violating the Constitution, that same Constitution that provided for separation of church and state. In this case, which is the church and which is the state? It is all completely, totally ludicrous. No wonder the rest of the world laughs at us.
"By making an individual teacher's personal religious opinions, no matter where they are expressed, an issue in the church-state debate, what they're basically saying is that the teacher IS the state (in this case, oddly enough, imposing non-religious views) when a student prefers religious views."
I disagree with this statement.
I think this statement is stupid.
I think anyone who agrees with this statement is an idiot.
I hope the spaghetti monster gets the person who made this statement.
I pray that people who don't pray would respect prayer and realize that praying for someone is not arrogant but an extremely humbling act; it is saying, "I disagree with you, but I do not want to be like you, I want to love you as my God tells me to and not hurt you back as you hurt me with your words and hence there is nothing I can do except pray for you."
How far does one go with "expressing" their conflicting beliefs? An opinion about a baseball team is not the same as an opinion about your faith unless of course your favorite team is also your religion/idol.
The teacher has far greater influence over any individual student and therefore should be held to a higher level of responsibility. It's bad enough if a classmate tells you you're stupid for believing in God or creationism (or anything else that's as personal as religion), but for a teacher to say it repeatedly in front of others is incredibly self-indulgent. Taming the tongue is an adult skill, which many clearly have not learned. The Bible says, "everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial." So yes, all of us have the right to express our likes/dislikes but do we have a right to injure/insult our friends? If we do not respect others' worldviews, we cannot have a civilized society where we can disagree peaceably. This is what the separation of church-state means, that we tolerate each other and acknowledge the other's right to their religious views without making fun of them.
As far as I know, there is no separation of sports-state laws.
"If there is anything I can't stand it's an arrogant athiest proselytiser being paid a union salary by the government!"
Yes, because that's so much worse than an arrogant Christian proselytizer being paid a union salary by the government! You're not too bright, are you?
"Dr. Corbett should have kept his opinions on religious verity out of a public school classroom"
Absolutely! What would the world come to if educators actually tried to teach The Truth to their students? It would be complete anarchy!
Awesome!
Great ruling!
charley, that's not what this is about, and you know it.
This is about the teacher abusing his position to make blatantly bigoted and hateful comments, in clear violation of the Establishment Clause.
He fully deserves to be fired.
btw, nowhere in the Bible does it say the sun revolves around the Earth.
@adam:
"btw, nowhere in the Bible does it say the sun revolves around the Earth."
It does, but they were just metaphors, right?
Either way, the church maintained it's stance on geocentricity for centuries citing biblical passages as proof against scientific evidence. It's too bad I won't be alive a few hundred years from now, when the religious argue up and down about how the bible doesn't actually claim creationism to be the mechanism for life. My guess: something about it being metaphorical.
Charley, please prove your statement that "... science teachers have to respect the opinions of ignorant students who insist on substituting superstition for proven science." scientifically, using scientific method: thus proving that your statement is true and factual.
I am a Mensan with a physics and biochemistry background, so you don't have to worry about your arguments being too far above my head for me to understand them.
Here's your opportunity to look good in front of your wise friends.
Sincerely,
Bob Diamond R.Ph
Wow! It's hot in here!
A couple of points being repeated in the blogosphere that are wrong about the case.
1. The teacher only made that one statement and that statement is not bad.
Wrong. Chad Farnan was able to show a pattern of Christian and faith bashing (Southerners bashing BTW, too) that was not appropriate in a public high school classroom setting. You have the legal conclusions which just focused on a couple of the teacher’s statements. You can argue “legality” 'till you are blue in the face. the fact is that this teacher displayed obvious bias against people of faith.
2. It’s perfectly acceptable to bash Christians like the teacher did.
Well, if you are into that, but WRONG in this case. We are not talking about a Starbucks conversation. We are talking about a teacher in a classroom with high schoolers in a public school.
My stuff can be found at:
Jesus Glasses and Bloggers for Chad Farnan
Much like Rosa Parks, Chad Farnan sat in the back of the bus too many times. Only with Farnan, it’s not about a bus, such as the ones during Parks’ era in which blacks were told they could only sit in the back seats….
More at TheScroogeReport.com
The ruling tells me that it is perfectly fine for a Christian to take over a classroom, put down non-Christians, cause disorder, and make everyone feel uncomfortable. But if a person criticizes Christianity, the crime of the century had been committed.
@thomas...
"The ruling tells me that it is perfectly fine for a Christian to take over a classroom, put down non-Christians, cause disorder, and make everyone feel uncomfortable. But if a person criticizes Christianity, the crime of the century had been committed."
Can you please illustrate or give examples of "take over a classroom," "put down non-Christians," and "cause disorder?"
I didn't think so!
Did you read the decision? The Court found in favor of the teacher on everything except one statement. On every other point, the judge ruled as a matter of law that the teacher did nothing wrong.
I think it's one thing to share your religious views with your students, but it is so out of line to attack someone because of their religious beliefs- whether directly or indirectly. It's not fair for any student to go to school and be discriminated against (and I know it happens, I'm not naive) be they Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, etc... This man, a teacher, a trusted educator should welcome discussion and debate in his classroom. In my opinion, anyone who slams someone else because of their beliefs and then closes the door on differing opinions is very cowardly.
I believe Teachers are HIRED TO TEACH SUBJECTS - not their own Political Opinions or Religious Beliefs.
I wish there was some way to send my property tax money to Charter and Religious schools and NOT TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The Unions have turned them into Left Wing incubaters that turn out students who will Vote for the Left but can't speak or write proper English and definitely can't do basic math.
What amazes me about the science programs on TV to do with evolution and trying to disprove religion, is that if you listen, everything they have to say is prefaced with "perhaps", "might have", "possibly"...nothing, absolutely nothing is definitely proven about the subject, and they absolutely cannot disprove what the Bible says about creation and where we all came from. Matter of fact, the harder they try, the more they're proving the Bible is correct.
This is so pathetic that it actually became a news! I can't believe the lengths to which this student went. It's time for all of you hard Bible believers to finally wake up and step into the light; leave the dark ages and accept the scientific proof for existence and evolution...
Bible is nothing but a book written by a human and interpreted millions of times, hence imperfect, and not divine at all. Religion is an excuse for everything unexplainable to simple minds centuries ago....cheers all! You just keep living under "godly" control, while I enjoy my life without any limits or restraints.....
You can find me here: http://www.christianpost.com/author/alex-murashko/
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