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February 4

School board says 'Bible Man' can continue monthly school assemblies

The Associated Press

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. - School board members in Jackson County have decided not to ban a man known as the "Bible Man" from holding monthly meetings with elementary school children.

The board took up the matter this week in response to complaints that religious assemblies were being held during the school day. The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation objected to the voluntary school meetings on behalf of some parents.

The board deliberated for an hour, as a standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 people prayed, sang and shared stories of the "Bible Man," as Horace Turner Jr. is known, The Huntsville Times reported.

Turner leads assemblies with elementary children to tell stories from the Bible, Superintendent Kenneth Harding said.

"This is totally unacceptable," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation in Madison, Wis. She said public schools "are not to be a conduit for missionaries."

Officials say the meetings have always been voluntary, but Gaylor says courts have said elementary school children can't discern what is required and what is not.

 

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