More Jesus glasses

THE STORY about the Capo Valley High School teacher slamming religion—the Times broke it on Thursday—seems to be getting hotter, what with the likes of Bill "red meat" O’Reilly climbing all over it. Even UCI's Erwin "no meat" Chemerinsky has weighed in, saying the lawsuit against the teacher is not likely to prevail.

The OC Reg provides a link to the complaint (a pdf file). Presumably, this is the suit against the teacher/district filed recently in federal court.

Hey, those darned kids down at CAPO VAL are already protesting. And on a SUNDAY! Check out this pic:

(Actually, this is fake. On the other hand, this scene is genuinely in my head.)

From Thursday’s LA Times: Lawsuit targets history teacher's comments:

.....A San Juan Capistrano high school student and his parents filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that his history teacher violated his constitutional rights by making "highly inappropriate" and offensive statements in class regarding Christianity.
.....James Corbett, who teaches Advanced Placement European history at Capistrano Valley High School, consistently "demonstrates a sense of hostility toward religion," causing Christian students to "feel ostracized and treated as second-class citizens," according to the lawsuit filed in federal district court in Santa Ana by Chad Farnan, 16, and his parents, Bill and Teresa.
.....The lawsuit contends, among other things, that Corbett told students during class that "when you put on your Jesus glasses, you can't see the truth"; said that religion is not "connected with morality"; compared Christians to "Muslim fundamentalists" who want women to "stay pregnant, barefoot, and in the kitchen and have babies until your body collapses"; and suggested that churchgoers are more likely to commit rape and murder.
.....…Teresa Farnan said her suspicions were aroused on the first day of school when her son—a sophomore honors student required to take Corbett's class for college admission—asked her whether America was founded on Christian values, which he said his teacher had denied.
....."He had learned in the eighth grade that our country was founded by persecuted Christians," said the mother, who describes her family as nondenominational Christian, "so I sent him to school with a tape recorder."
.....During the next two months, Chad Farnan said, he taped Corbett's lectures with the recorder in plain sight on his backpack.
.....…Eventually the Farnans contacted Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a nonprofit organization based in Murrieta dedicated to "protecting religious liberty," a spokeswoman said.
.....…"The teacher is a representative of the state and the Constitution requires government neutrality toward religion," [attorney Jennifer Monk] said. "This teacher's conduct and words clearly show he is hostile toward religion and is indoctrinating these kids, who are a captive audience."

From Friday’s OC Register: Teacher's religion remarks spark lively community debate:

.....…Many of Corbett's current and former students have rushed to his defense, saying he not only had the right to criticize traditional Christian viewpoints on topics such as birth control, teenage sex and homosexuality, but that his talks forced students to think critically about their own views….
....."I don't agree with everything he says, but that's not the point," said Capistrano Valley High graduate Erica Bashaw, 18, now a freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. "Can you tolerate someone saying something that you don't agree with? Can you have a fiery debate about ideas? It scares me that that's not acceptable."
.....…Some student supporters wore handmade T-shirts to school Friday with messages such as "Keep Corbett." And dozens of Corbett's current and former students are planning a rally at 7 a.m. Wednesday at the high school to show their support for him.

....."Corbett has been a powerful reminder to me that we 'Christians' do not have the monopoly on truth," Capistrano Valley High geography and history teacher Tom Airey wrote in the Orange County Register's opinion section. "… In an age where there is probably too much emphasis on teaching to the standards and getting 'the facts' right, Corbett is training young students to think critically."
.....At issue in the lawsuit is whether Corbett violated the separation of church and state as outlined in the First Amendment's establishment clause. Court papers cite statements tape-recorded by Farnan such as "From conservative Christians in this country to Muslim fundamentalists in Afghanistan … it's stunning how vitally interested they are in controlling women" and "When you put on your Jesus glasses, you can't see the truth."
.....…"He's only giving one side – that's not thinking critically at all," said Farnan, 16, who does not plan to attend his AP European History class again until Corbett is removed. "This might be a college-level class, but it's in high school, so he doesn't have the same rights."
.....…"All of his opinions would have been fine with us if he had invited opposing points of view and the class was actually debating," said parent Birgit O'Hearn, 46, of Mission Viejo, who pulled her daughter out of Corbett's class this year. "But the opinions he was putting forth are not opinions that are worthy of an instructor."
.....…The case also has sparked disagreement among legal scholars about its merits and chance of success.
.....UC Irvine's new law dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, who has litigated several high-profile church vs. state lawsuits on the secular side, thinks the lawsuit is "very unlikely to succeed," he said.
....."Court will be very reluctant to open the door to students suing when they find the teachers' speech objectionable," Chemerinsky said….