Students throughout the United States will be celebrating the event known as Bring Your Bible to School Day on Thursday, October 3.
The annual event, sponsored by global Christian ministry Focus on the Family, celebrates religious freedom in America and seeks to empower students to express their faith in God’s word in a respectful way.
“Participation is voluntary and student-directed – meaning it’s completely up to students, Christian clubs and youth groups to sign up online and then lead the activities in their school,” states the event’s website and adds:
As a Christian student, you can be a powerful voice of hope at your school! In the Bible, it’s often young people who lead the way for the rest of their culture by providing an example of spiritual boldness and taking a courageous stand for their belief in God.
Additionally, the event team notes that when students bring their bibles to school and express their faith, they “are helping to protect religious freedoms for other students.”
Recently, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees received criticism after appearing in a video for the event.
In the video, Brees encourages students to “live out your faith on Bring Your Bible to School Day.”
“However, an intensely critical article from Business Insider labeled Focus on the Family an ‘anti-LGBTQ group,'” Breitbart News reported. “This, despite the fact that nowhere in Brees’ video did he mention LGBTQ people, or issues.”
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an organization of attorneys who defend the rights of people to freely live their faith, offers pro bono legal assistance as appropriate for students who bring their bibles to school and experience unconstitutional obstacles to exercising their First Amendment rights.
The event’s website reminds students they can voluntarily express their “personal and religious beliefs” to classmates “through verbal or written expressions,” as long as they follow school policy and refrain from these activities during classroom time.
“[S]chools do have the ability to enforce basic procedures and regulations that students need to follow to engage in these activities,” the website states. “What schools can’t do, however, is enforce these regulations in a biased way and practice what’s known as ‘viewpoint discrimination’ – allowing certain groups and students to engage in activities, while censoring or prohibiting other groups and students.”
Students who want to know more about the event and their First Amendment rights can visit the website.