Did This High School Football Team Violate The Constitution By Having A Mass Baptism?

You don’t have to watch much football to see how deeply it can be intertwined with religion. Prayer circles are a commonplace sight before and after games, or when a player suffers a serious injury on the field. God is often among the first thanked when a player accomplishes something great. Houston Texans Arian Foster actually made headlines for being atheist.

But there’s still something not-quite-right about the football team for a public high school conducting a mass baptism on their practice field, and it’s hammered home by the above image, taken from Villa Rica First Baptist Church’s YouTube video (since removed) advertising the ceremony at Villa Rica High School in Georgia. Images from it were saved by USA Today, however:

According to WCNC, the Freedom from Religion Foundation is calling for Villa Rica’s school district to investigate a violation of the First Amendment’s provision for the separation of church and state. From WCNC’s report:

The Freedom from Religion Foundation sent a letter to Carroll County Tuesday asking the district to “immediately investigate and take action to ensure there will be no further illegal religious events”. In the letter, the FFRF mentioned its lawsuit against Emanuel County School District for similar practices. The group is now seeking punitive and personal liability damages in that case. “We prefer to settle these matters cooperatively,” the letter ends with a request to detail the steps the school district is taking to comply with the First Amendment.

“I can’t remember another case like this,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “It’s really misusing the authority of the coach to promote his personal religious agenda.”

The FFRF’s statement implies that it was a coach who invited the church to perform the baptism. No students commented on the story; so far, it’s another story of adults fighting for the souls of children, in this case literally (or as literal as a soul can be).

(Via WCNC and USA Today)

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