Jackson, Ohio middle school defies atheist group's demands, refuses to remove portrait of Jesus Christ

The community of Jackson, Ohio is standing up to the Madison, Wisconsin atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation, and is refusing to remove a portrait of Jesus Christ that has been on their “Wall of Honor” for over 65 years:

The Christian Post reports:

Hundreds of community members hailed a school district in Ohio for deciding to let a portrait of Jesus Christ stay at the hallway of a middle school, which was threatened with a lawsuit by Freedom From Religion Foundation.

“I’m certainly not going to run down there and take the picture down because some group from Madison, Wis. who knows nothing about the culture of our community or why the picture is even there, wants me to take it down,” Jackson County School District Superintendent Phil Howard told WKKJ.

In a Jan. 2 letter to the district, the FFRF demanded the portrait, which hangs in the Jackson Middle School building, be removed, saying it is unconstitutional government endorsement of Christianity.

Howard said the portrait — placed in 1947 by a local chapter of the Young Men’s Christian Association — is one of several displays in the school’s Hall of Honor. “We’re not violating the law and the picture is legal because it has historical significance. It hasn’t hurt anyone.”

About 600 members of the community showed up at the Jackson City School Board meeting last week to support the administration’s decision to keep the picture.

Howard showed a framed poster of America’s motto, “In God We Trust,” and Ohio’s motto of “With God, All Things Are Possible.” He then cited ORC 3313.801, which states that a copy of the national or state official mottos is donated to a school district, or if money is donated to the district specifically for the purpose of purchasing such material, the board of education of the school district shall accept the donation and display the motto in an appropriate manner …More here.

Meanwhile, the Ohio ACLU is sticking its nose in on the matter.

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