Nic: Marysville Hostile to Christianity

RE: Marysville schools ban proselytizing /Everett Herald

Nic: I’m a former student of the Marysville school district, and they do allow recruitment for political parties on campus. They also have a long history of infringing on religious freedom - including (but not limited to) banning prayer{not just group prayer, but individual prayer as well}, voluntary group bible studies held outside of school hours, etc. However, the school district’s official position of religion on campus seems to restrict only Judeo/Christian beliefs. They allow religious clubs for students of all religions except the big three (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Full post below.

Question: Are public schools generally hostile to the Judeo-Christian faith?

“Likewise, they wouldn’t be able to recruit them for the young republicans or democrats.”

Actually… you’re wrong. I’m a former student of the Marysville school district, and they do allow recruitment for political parties on campus. They also have a long history of infringing on religious freedom - including (but not limited to) banning prayer{not just group prayer, but individual prayer as well}, voluntary group bible studies held outside of school hours, etc.

However, the school district’s official position of religion on campus seems to restrict only Judeo/Christian beliefs. They allow religious clubs for students of all religions except the big three (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). They don’t do anything to discourage witchcraft (of which there is a large population of practicing Wiccans in the area) on school grounds. The first Bible burning on campus in school district history happened during my senior year. No disciplinary action was taken on the student that lit the fire - and furthermore, the school’s administration publicly denied it ever happened. The year after I graduated had three separate bible burnings. I stopped counting after that.

The culture of the school is hostile towards Christians, they are often publicly belittled by teachers. Students are not held accountable if they threaten or verbally accost Christian students for their faith. Marysville Washington is not a happy place for Christian students.

However, Christian students there are far from holy. The local AG church (one of the largest youth groups in Western Washington) take the concept of “spiritual warfare” literally. In ‘98, a group of students from M-ville AG singled out, cornered, and beat up a kid at a Friday night football game because the kid was wearing a Marilyn Manson t-shirt.

Sorry for the long post… As a product of the school system in question, I thought I could shed a little light on the motives on both sides of the fight.