Over the last several years, there has been an ongoing effort to purge God from the public square. From prohibiting the singing of Christmas carols to the removal of religious holidays from school calendars, this problem has become endemic in our public schools. Unfortunately, many of these actions are the result of ignorance which promotes open hostility to those of faith.

“Our coins bear the words 'In God We Trust'. We take the oath of office asking His help in keeping that oath. And we proclaim that we are a nation under God when we pledge allegiance to the flag. But we can't mention His name in a public school or even sing religious hymns that are nondenominational. Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeers, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would answer if a student asked why it was called Christmas.” 
-President Ronald Reagan

Many school districts falsely believe that they must ensure freedom from religion versus freedom of religion to forestall litigation from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or other special interest groups. While this position may be based on the possibility of litigation, it would hardly be a defense to justify unlawful religious discrimination. 

In an effort to help clarify what is appropriate under the law and protect the religious liberty of students and school employees, we are sending a memorandum of law to all 54 school districts in Nassau County.* This memorandum of law is from a national public interest law firm, Liberty Counsel. The law firm has litigated hundreds of cases involving religious discrimination and has affiliate attorneys in all fifty states. It should be noted that the firm has defended both individuals and governmental entities. For more information or representation, please contact Liberty Counsel.

The Nassau County Civic Association, Inc will also assist any Nassau County resident who has been subjected to religious discrimination as outlined in our article, “The Constitution and religious liberty”.

* On November 25, 2006, a memorandum  of law was sent to all 70 towns, cities and villages in Nassau County including County Executive Tom Suozzi.