SALISBURY, N.C. – The Rowan-Salisbury school board has decided that, at least for now, optional Bible classes in some of its elementary schools will remain.

According to WSOCTV, the Board of Education met Thursday night to discuss Bible instruction in the district after receiving a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation demanding the classes be stopped immediately.

As recently reported, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has ramped up its efforts in recent years to remove all prayer and religious references from public spaces by targeting numerous high schools, universities, and even a senior center.

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WSOCTV previously reported that FFRF said they received a complaint from a parent that the Bible was being taught at Woodleaf Elementary and other schools in the district as literal fact.

In its letter to the district, FFRF asserts that the optional once-per-week Bible classes at three of the district’s elementary schools are “flagrantly unconstitutional.”

FFRF’s staff attorney writes:

Parents and taxpayers expect and desire a secular education. Not only is this constitutionally required, it reflects the increasingly pluralistic world we live in.

It is appalling that the District would take away from instructional time to indoctrinate children in Christian dogma.

However, many Rowan residents disagree. According to WSOCTV, Thursday night’s school board meeting was so packed that people were “standing shoulder to shoulder.” “Eventually, it became standing room only, and the crowd was overwhemingly in favor of keeping the bible classes.”

The news report states that dozens of people, including students and a former teacher, spoke before the board in favor of the classes — many even bringing their Bibles with them.

According to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), “the First Amendment does not forbid all mention of religion in public schools; it is the advancement or inhibition of religion that is prohibited.”

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If the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education decides to stick to their guns on this one, it could all boil down to whether or not an optional weekly course that requires parental permission equates to the ‘advancement’ of religion.

In the meantime, the board says while it intends to asses the classes to see if they are in line with the Constitution, no changes have been made to the program.

Unfortunately, Rowan County is no stranger to attacks on its religious liberties. According to WSOCTV, in 2012, the ACLU sent a letter to Rowan County commissioners asking them to stop praying before their meetings. The commission refused and the ACLU filed suit in 2013.

County commissioners told the news source that, while they cannot celebrate until the lawsuit is over, they do consider it a victory that the U.S. Supreme Court has since ruled that sectarian prayer before government meetings is legal.