Reverend Franklin Graham is growing concerned that more and more Christians are being sued into silence after finding out that a Mississippi school district has been fined $7,500 just for opening an "optional" student assembly with a prayer and for allowing Gideon Bibles to be handed out on another occasion.
"Suing is a tactic being used to intimidate Christians and to trample on our religious freedoms — it's an epidemic," he wrote on his Facebook page.
During that student assembly, one particular student, who already brought charges against the school system before, objected to the prayer and decided to sue, even though attendance to that assembly was not mandatory. The student who sued got $2,500 because of the case.
US District Judge Carlton Reeves said the school defied his prior order to prohibit prayers during school events and to stop "proselytising Christianity," according to Fox News.
"The district's breach did not take very long and it occurred in a very bold way," Reeves wrote in his judgment. "Its conduct displays that the district did not make any effort to adhere to the agreed judgment."
He also told the school district to shoulder the student's legal fees and threatened to charge them $10,000 should they decide to continue violating his order.
But it looks like the said school district is adamant to continue with its prayer time during school events, no matter what the court orders its officials to do or how much they have to cough up for allegedly violating the law.
"Rankin County Superintendent Lynn Weathersby said despite the court's ruling, students and teachers will continue to pray. God bless them! As Christians we've got to take a stand for our religious freedoms. It's a new day in America—Christianity is in the direct line of fire. Pray for this superintendent and school system, and for all those coming under attack right here in our own country," Graham urged his followers.
