bangor christian school lgbtq

The church writes that if the state approved Bangor Christian Schools for tuition purposes, the recent changes to law would "substantially burden" the school's religious exercise by conditioning the school's "participation in a generally available tuition program on Plaintiff forfeiting its right to operate BCS consistent with its religious beliefs. The U.S. Department of Education has affirmed the exemption of Baylor University, a conservative Christian school, from certain antidiscrimination requirements after LGBTQ+ students submitted complaints of harassment. The makeup of the court has grown more conservative since then, with the arrival of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was nominated by then-President Trump in September 2020. SCOTUS Hears Major Religious Freedom Case on Maine Schools | Time And that is unconstitutional religious discrimination.". Bangor Christian School in Bangor, Maine. The vote split along ideological lines, with the courts three liberal justices dissenting. Magazines, Digital A federal district court and the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, ruling that Maines policy was in standing with the separation of church and state. Roughly 10% of K-12 students are enrolled in private schools in the U.S, and 7% are enrolled in public charter schools. Search Query Show Search. Its not clear the outcome of the case would be that simple. Maine says it will not fund the attendance of schools that provide religious educationa rule aimed at preventing public funds from being used for religious activity. You cant, Shamlian alleges. Is this program permitted to say, with respect to the students, if they meet your academic requirements, you cant discriminate?. Maine banned parents from using the money to send their kids to schools that provide religious education, a rule aimed at preventing public funds from being used for religious activity. Its very hard now, as an adult, to kind of reclaim that and reclaim the ability to figure out who you are and your identity, says Taylor, 20. Though it is not being directly litigated, Carson also raises questions about the conflict between religious freedom and LGBTQ rights. On Dec. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether Maines policy violated the Carsons constitutional rights. In a 6-3 decision, the high court tossed Maines banon public funding for religious schools in June 2022, saying it effectively penalized the free exercise of religion.. Asked about the former students claims in particular, Bindas tells TIME that the case is about discrimination based on religion. The Radonises want to send their children to St. Dominic Academy, a private school with campuses in Lewiston and Auburn serving prekindergarten to 12th-grade students run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. Kevelaer, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Weather The two private religious schools at the center of the case have histories of homophobic and transphobic policies. That possibility alarms Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the plaintiffs in Carson, Abrams expects other states, particularly rural ones, could face pressure from religious communities to create similar programs that include religious schools. Bangor Christian Schools prohibits students from identifying as a gender other than their sex assigned at birth, and requires students to wear clothing consistent with that sex. Nashville shooter was ex-student with detailed plan to kill, Helping parents with education and training pays dividends, lifted a ban on public funding for religious schools, An Act to Improve Consistency in Terminology and within the Maine Human Rights Act, Rockland hotel sold to out-of-state developer, Lobsterman finds body off Down East coast, Inside the feud that has stalled a coastal Maine park, 11 Maine trails that are great for forest bathing, He thinks rural commune is key to solving homelessness in Bangor, Maine lobsterman lost at sea remembered for dedication to family and friends, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. The Supreme Court Ruled Taxpayer Dollars Can Go Toward Religious - TIME Among several changes, the law bars religious schools that receive public funds from discriminating on the basis of religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Temple Academy requires students and parents to sign a form acknowledging that the school adheres to a conservative evangelical ideology that includes views on marriage and homosexuality that are often at odds with the humanistic views currently prevailing in our society., Plaintiffs David and Amy Carson, one of the two sets of parents who sued Maine over its tuition assistance program, told NBC News on Tuesday that they wanted to send their daughter to Bangor Christian because, as Amy Carson put it, the schools beliefs are aligned with what we have at the home.. But the possibility of the Supreme Court allowing taxpayer funding to flow to religious schools worries two former students TIME spoke with, who say the Bangor Christian Schools environment promoted negative attitudes toward LGBTQ people and made them feel unsafe because of their sexual orientation. Save. It was pretty terrifying.. . All Rights Reserved. The school is now into its fourth decade of training young men and women to serve the Lord. Member Benefits: Maine PBS Passport, MemberCard & More. Among several changes, the law bars religious schools that receive public funds from discriminating on the basis of religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. ", "And the Attorney General singled out particular religious beliefs of this school," Patterson said. But while the plaintiffs argue that Maines policy violates their religious rights, state officials say religious schools dont provide an education that is equivalent to a public education, arguing that they often teach religious views that might conflict with a public school curriculum and might discriminate against certain teachers and students in hiring and admissions. On the other hand, the plaintiffs and their supporters argue the state is discriminating against religious people by excluding their preferred schools from this program. A Supreme Court decision allowing taxpayer dollars to help pay for tuition at schools that offer religious instruction has sparked concerns about the potential implications of the ruling on LGBTQ rights. Address. Share. Representatives for Bangor Christian Schools and Temple Academy did not immediately respond to TIMEs requests for comment Tuesday. Current Families. In 2004 it had 117 high school students and 235 elementary and middle school students. They promote a single religion to the exclusion of all others, refuse to admit gay and transgender children, and openly discriminate in hiring teachers and staff., He said he plans to explore options that would ensure public money isnt used to promote discrimination, intolerance, and bigotry., The ruling is a win for the school choice movement, which supports programs that enable parents to use public funds to send their child to schools beyond traditional public schoolsan option conservative legal groups have long supported. Soon She'll Start 7th Grade, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, This Supreme Court Case Could Take a 'Wrecking Ball' to Separation of Church and State, Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Bangor Christian Schools; 1476 Broadway Bangor, ME 04401; Phone: (207) 947-7356; Fax: (207) 262-9528; Mission, Vision, and . Though LGTBQ discrimination is not being directly litigated in this case, some of the Supreme Courts more liberal justices raised questions about discrimination within the schools mentioned in the lawsuit. Bangor Christian Schools sophomore Olivia Carson, 15, of Glenburn, Maine, left, stands with her mother Amy while getting dropped off on the first day of school on August 28, 2018 in Bangor, Maine. The church, formerly known as Bangor Baptist Church, operates Bangor Christian Schools with students from pre-kindergarten age through grade 12 on outer Broadway in Bangor. Supreme Court The Supreme Court Could Let Religious Schools Take Taxpayer Money. Bangor church sues over law requiring its school to accept LGBTQ students, staff to get public funds (2023) Bangor Christian Schools sophomore Olivia Carson, 15, of Glenburn . That was overturned last year in a 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court, which said it violated the right to the free exercise of religion. Read more: Why Cant I Hold His Hand? The Supreme Court Will Decide What Comforts a Pastor Can Offer During an Execution. (Shamlian believes the school meant conversion therapy, which has been banned in at least 20 states for being discriminatory, harmful to children and widely discredited.). Bangor Christian School | Bangor, Maine The fundamental notion that none of us should be required to pay for other peoples practice of religion is about as basic as it gets, and yet were seeing, in these education contexts, that notion flipped on its head.. In the view of plaintiffs, Bindas says, that distinction is hair splitting., The families argue its unfair that some schools with religious traditions, such as weekly chapel meetings are allowed, to qualify for Maines program, giving the example of the private, all-boys Cardigan Mountain School in New Hampshire, which Chief Justice John Roberts son attended and which describes itself as a nonsectarian educational institution founded in the Judeo-Christian tradition., Read more: The Real Meaning of the Separation of Church and State. The lawsuit cites a press release from Attorney General Aaron Frey noting that schools that accept public funds "must comply with anti-discrimination provisions of the Maine Human Rights Act, and this would require some religious schools to eliminate their current discriminatory practices. Two of the religious, private schools at the center of the Carson case Bangor Christian School and Temple Academy have explicit policies barring the admission of LGBTQ students or hiring LGBTQ teachers, according to court documents. Among several changes, the law bars religious schools that receive public funds from discriminating on the basis of religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. All Rights Reserved. In a lawsuit filed Monday, Crosspoint Church, which operates Bangor Christian Schools, argued that law violates the school's free exercise of religion. Hotels near Kath. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The church claims the law which requires schools that take tuition from towns without high schools to accept students and hire employees who are LBGTQ violates the U.S. Constitution. Their siblings attended the school. That ruling opened the door for approved religious schools to receive public funds. Toggle navigation. LGBTQ Alumni Say That's a Mistake The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington D.C. on Dec. 3, 2021. The lawsuit claims the law prevents Bangor Christian from teaching and following its religious tenets if it accepts LGBTQ students. A religious school in Bangor is suing the state of Maine over a recently passed law saying that schools cannot discriminate on the basis of religion, sexual orientation and gender identity if they receive public funds. Crosspoint Church, which runs Bangor Christian Schools, filed a complaint on Monday against assorted Maine officials in the United States District Court for the District of Maine. And its curriculum guide promises to teach children to "recognize God as the Creator of the world" and to . In a lawsuit filed Monday, Crosspoint Church, which operates Bangor Christian Schools, argued that law violates the school's free exercise of religion. In 2004 it had 117 high school students and 235 elementary and middle school students. It was so positive for me, he says. BANGOR, Maine A new lawsuit over Maine's tuition reimbursement program for private schools contends an antidiscrimination law unfairly targets religious schools to prevent their participation. Family members have taught. Baylor University Gets Exemption From LGBTQ-Related Sexual Harassment Ban [2], The Office of the Attorney General of the State of Maine in 2021 stated that the school does not employ LGBTQ teachers and the school culture discourages students from expressing LGBTQ identities, with the possibility that the school may expel students for doing so. In 2017, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer that Missouri had violated the right to free exercise of religion under the First Amendment when it excluded a church from a state program providing funds to resurface playgrounds. ", "And the Attorney General singled out particular religious beliefs of this school," Patterson said. Supreme Court's religious school ruling signals 'dangerous road' for A Massachusetts law passed in 2016 aimed at selling only humanely raised pork products goes into effect later this week, after multiple delays by lawsuits. Religious schools can and do advance their own religion to the exclusion of all others, discriminate in both the teachers they employ and the students they admit, and teach religious views inimical to what is taught in public schools. IE 11 is not supported. Personal Experience - Schedule a visit to the school to meet the teachers and staff and to tour our facilities. But two years ago, the Maine legislature passed a law amending the Maine Human Rights Act. SCOTUS Hears Major Religious Freedom Case on Maine Schools, The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election, 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Google Maps June 21, 2022, 1:16 PM PDT By Ilya Somin On Tuesday, the. Crosspoint Church, the operator of Bangor Christian Schools, argues new rules were intentionally created so that the school could not receive tuition payments. Supreme Court may allow more public funds for church schools - Los Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Were looking at potentially another wrecking ball to the wall of separation between church and state, says Jennifer Pizer, law and policy director for Lambda Legal, a national legal organization that advocates for LGBTQ rights. Instead, families in those areas could use a taxpayer-funded tuition assistance program to send their kids to an approved private schoolas long as the school was secular. In March, Crosspoint Church, formerly known as Bangor Baptist Church and which operates Bangor Christian Schools, sued the state in U.S. District Court challenging the 2021 law, which it. Olivia Carson and her mother, Amy Carson, in front of Bangor Christian Schools in Bangor, Maine, on Aug. 28, 2018. Its a distinction based on a difference that doesnt exist in the real world., Bindas says its not about the government directly funding religious schools, which would receive money indirectly if a family chose to send their children there. Soon She'll Start 7th Grade, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, The Supreme Court Ruled Taxpayer Dollars Can Go Toward Religious Schools. Sarah McDaniel, president of the Portland Maine Chapter of the LGBTQ rights group PFLAG, says she thinks the possibility of taxpayer money going to schools that may discriminate against LGBTQ students compounds the harm some of our most marginalized youth will encounter. Jenny C. Pizer, the acting chief legal officer for the LGBTQ advocacy group Lambda Legal, says she views the courts decision as a perverse continued demolition of what remains of the wall of separation between Church and State erected by the Establishment Clause. And Rachel Laser, the President and CEO of the nonprofit Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which filed a brief in support of Maine, argues that the decision is forcing taxpayers to fund religious education., This nation was built on the promise of religious freedom, which has always prevented the state from using its taxing power to force citizens to fund religious worship or education, Laser argues. Both Bangor Christian . Bangor Christians 2021 handbook, for example, says the only legitimate meaning of marriage is one that joins one man and one woman and states that any other type of sexual activity, identity or expression that lies outside of this definition of marriage are sinful perversions of and contradictory to Gods natural design.. Family members have taught there. Circuit Court of Appeals supported the ban on public funding for religious schools. Close Menu. Any deviation from the sexual identity that God created will not be accepted, the handbook states. Sign Up for. More than anything, Shamlian worries that such a school environment can be dangerous. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, is the secondto challenge the law in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Maines ban on public fundingfor religious schools. So far, Maine has approved one religious school - Portland's Cheverus High School - to receive public tuition dollars. Religious-freedom groups are hoping the decision will enable more families to send their children to religious schools. In spring 2019, Shamlian, who identifies as nonbinary and bisexual, was just two months shy of graduating Bangor Christian Schoolsa private K-12 religious school in Bangor, Mainewhen a fellow student reported them to the administration as queer. I said, Well I can be Christian and be gay. And [the principal] said, No thats not right. Magazines, Digital Open Monday to Friday from 7:30am - 3:30pm unless otherwise indicated on the school calendar. The government is funding families in allowing them to decide where to use this benefit., Weve never, in this country, had a complete wall of separation between church and state, but the current court has been issuing decisions that have reduced the establishment clause to little more than a shabby old picket fence, says Kevin Welner, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education who studies educational policy and law. "And vowed to exclude them from the program, using the Maine Human Rights Act. Interactive weather map allows you to pan and zoom to get unmatched weather details in your local neighborhood or half a world away from The Weather Channel and Weather.com They simply are not being offered a benefit that no family in Maine is entitled to, he said. The 6-3 decisionthe latest in a series of rulings favoring arguments for religious libertycomes after civil-rights advocates had warned the case could take a wrecking ball to the separation of church and state. What were seeing, I think, in this decision, is this new court bringing together several strands of its religious liberty jurisprudence, or doctrine, in a way that clearly elevates religious liberty rights over all other rights, she said. Maines religious exclusion bars families from selecting religious schools, including those that welcome LGBTQ students, Bindas says. Dave and Amy Carson, and their daughter Olivia. If the court keeps going in that direction, it is transformative. In addition to teaching religion and instilling a Christian worldview, Maine alleges in court filings that both Bangor Christian and Temple Academy discriminate against people of other religions and LGBTQ teachers and students. Maine news, sports, politics, election results, and obituaries. He said the schools named in the suit promote a single religion to the exclusion of all others, refuse to admit gay and transgender children, and openly discriminate in hiring teachers and staff. He also vowed to work with Maines governor, Janet Mills, to ensure that public money is not used to promote discrimination, intolerance, and bigotry.. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital But under an amendment to the Maine Human Rights Act, which took effect in October 2021, they are unable to use the public tuition program to send their kids there, the lawsuit states. Religion Unplugged 56 Broadway New York, NY . A state need not subsidize private education, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. Maines new law imposes special burdens on religious schools in order to keep them out of the school choice program. The Carson family is a plaintiff in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could enable religious schools, such as Bangor Christian, to receive taxpayer funds. If the court rules broadly, it could have an enormous impact on whether religious institutions can benefit from state funding. Now, other religious schools may have to confront that question as well. The school is now into its fourth decade of training young men and women to serve the Lord. Maine news, sports, politics, election results, and obituaries. Under the program, families in rural areas can receive public funds to send their children to their choice of public or approved private schools, but not to schools that provide religious education. They develop essential skills in critical thinking and problem solving and accept increasing responsibility for their work. As a Temple Academy, the Christian school where the Nelsons had hoped to send their children, will not admit a child who lives in a two-father or a two-mother family, nor students who are transgender or gay. community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years. Troy and Angela Nelson, and their children Royce and Alicia. An Act to Improve Consistency in Terminology and within the Maine Human Rights Act went into effect in October 2021 while the school funding was pending before the nations high court. Bangor Christian Schools (BCS) is a K-12 Christian school in Bangor, Maine. Discriminating against all religions versus secular is, itself, a kind of discrimination that the court has said is odious to the Constitution, at least in certain contexts, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said. U.S. Department of Education reaffirms Baylor's religious exemption in response to sexual harassment complaints. Both schools have said they would not accept funds from the program if it meant they would have to change their policies, including hiring and admissions practices, according to Maines filing. 56 Broadway, New York, NY, 10004, United States. Maria Taylor, a graduate of Bangor Christian Schools, says coming out didn't feel like an option at the school. I am worried that this Supreme Court has moved in a direction that facilitates discrimination in new and dangerous ways, not just for LGBTQ people, but for women, for religious minorities, for all minorities., (Bindas, the Carsonss attorney, called Maines concerns about LGBTQ discrimination an attempt to deflect from the discrimination that the state of Maine is engaged in, referring to his clients claims of constitutional violations.). Trees provide a wide range of benefits, from filtering out air pollution, to improving mental health, to cooling city neighborhoods on hot summer days. Former Bangor Christian Schools sophomore Olivia Carson, then 15, of Glenburn, Maine, left, stands with her mother Amy while getting dropped off on the first day of school on August 28, 2018 in Bangor, Maine. LGBTQ Advocates Are Worried, Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? info@themediaproject.com. CrosspointChurch has sued the state over public funding for students that attend the high school at Bangor Christian Schools, operated by the church. ", In a statement, Attorney General Aaron Frey said that "all Mainers deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, whether it be in their workplace, their housing, or in their classrooms. Shamlian says the principal told them that because they were so close to graduating, they would not be expelledas long as they didnt tell anyone they were queer. Shamlian agrees and says the state should not have to support education that is not inclusive of all students. In March, Crosspoint Church, formerly known as Bangor Baptist Church and which operates Bangor Christian Schools, sued the state in U.S. District Courtchallenging the 2021 law, which it described as a poison pill for religious schools that may want to participate in the tuition program. Parents of students enrolled in religious schools fought for years all the way to the Supreme Court for tuition to be reimbursed . consumers be able to bring home the bacon after humane pork laws take effect. The education provided by the schools at issue here is inimical to a public education. Bangor church sues over law requiring its school to accept LGBTQ students, staff to get public funds Maine Public | By Robbie Feinberg Published March 28, 2023 at 4:57 PM EDT Gabor Degre / BDN

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