Artwork in place for over 30 years now considered a threat
The ACLU and related groups are suing to have a painting of Jesus that has hung in a West Virginia high school for over 30 years removed. They say the painting sends the message that the school endorses Christianity as its official religion.
I would like to see the judge in this case do something interesting: since the ACLU and friends are making the claim, let them prove it. Force them to find a single verifiable example of students who 1) felt that they were being pressured to join the Christian faith and/or 2) felt the school was even selecting an “official religion” let alone that the school was forcing them along that path.
I’ll wager the vast majority of students attending that school didn’t even notice the painting was there. At least not before the ACLU showed up.
So, if they replaced it with a print of the Van Gogh painting, “The Scream,” would the school be charged with endorsing depression as its official mental state?
So let’s hear from the ACLU and company in finding students of that high school who are in Christian faiths because they saw that painting at the school. If they can’t, then let the painting stay as an example of portrait art that is no less valid because the portrait is of a religious figure.
