Texas principal backs off religious talk after atheist complaints

Complaints from an atheist group pushed a North Texas high school principal to abandon leadership in a campus religious organization.

Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation alleged the practice violated Constitutional principles of separation of church and state when a public official encouraged students to pursue religious convictions while serving in his official capacity. In a press release, it said a principal had been "encouraging students to be proactive and make their daily walk with Christ a priority."

Controversy erupted in September when parents observed Prosper High School principal Greg Wright speak to students about how his Christian faith inspires him and what prayer means in his daily life, reported KXAS in Dallas. A parent complainant, Janie Oyakawa, said the principal's participation would alienate non-Christian students.

She filed a complaint to the FFRF—an organization that had made Texas headlines before for challenging religious expressions in public institutions. In 2015, it filed complaints against an East Texas school districts for daily Bible readings with morning announcements, and later against a North Texas police department for printing "In God We Trust" on fleet vehicles.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Texas-high-school-atheist-christian-church-and-6591201.php