An alarming religious revolution is apparently taking place in American public education, with Christianity and the Gospel becoming more and more taboo while Islam studies are being embraced.
This was why the Colorado-based group Focus on the Family decided to stand up for their faith and encourage 100,000 students to do the same.
Focus on the Family recently launched the "Bring Your Bible to School Day" campaign, to defend religious freedom, which is protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
"We hear from many students who want to be open about their faith and exercise their religious freedoms at school, but don't know if they are allowed to," Focus on the Family education analyst Candi Cushman told the Gaston Gazette.
"When we let them know they don't have to hide their beliefs, they feel empowered to do what's always been in their hearts: to bring their Bibles to school and use their free time to publicly live out their faith," she said. "That's why this event strikes a chord. Last year about 8,000 students participated and this year we expect that number to grow exponentially."
To drum up publicity for the event, which was held on Oct. 8, Focus on the Family teamed up with popular Christian singing group Newsboys, who launched a social media campaign for the event.
"Students' freedom to express their faith at school is an issue that's really close to our hearts," said Michael Tait, Newsboys lead singer. "Our newest song, 'Guilty,' deals directly with this topic. That's also why we're supporting the thousands of students participating in 'Bring Your Bible to School Day.'"
Despite the good intentions behind "Bring Your Bible to School Day," not everybody was happy with the event. When the Folsom Cordova School District in California sent an email to the families of all of its 20,000 students about the Bible event, they were swamped with complaints.
"Religion should be taught at home, with their church or whatever their beliefs are, but their beliefs should be separate from the public school system," parent Al Ernst told KCRA.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento Jewish Community Relations Council is unhappy that the event upset children of other faiths.
