Virginia School District Threatened by Freedom from Religion Foundation

The idea of separation between church and state is seemingly as old as the United States itself. But a school district in Virginia recently vowed to hang the Ten Commandments in each of its schools regardless of potential of whether or not in provoked a lawsuit. The Ten Commandments have hung in the schools since a pastor provided them in 1999. The school board claims that Commandments serve as moral guideposts for students.

But after the Wisconsin based Freedom From Religion Foundation has threatened a lawsuit, the Giles County School Board is changing their tune.  The Foundation, which aims to remove signs of religion in public schools, received a complaint last year from a student in the Giles County School District. Since then, they have approached the school board and have threatened to sue if the Commandments aren't removed.

When the Giles County School Board initially removed the Commandments upon hearing from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, but a day later, they were up again. Now, after a new vote on the matter, the Commandments are down again. But the Freedom From Religion Foundation isn't sure it will stick. They say they are still readying their case if they indeed choose to take the matter to court.

Many claim that this case is a battle between the heavily-Christian population of Giles County, Virginia, versus the largely atheist and agnostic population of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Regardless, the idea of separation of church and state is proving to be just as relevant today as ever.