Anglican Mainstream reports that a Philadelphia court has banned a kindergarten student from using a Bible for Show and Tell.

The story said “The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with a school district in suburban Philadelphia that refused to allow the Bible to be read during show-and-tell. Donna Kay Busch had sued the district after she was told she could not read her son's favourite book, the Bible, to his kindergarten class.”

A legal counsel involved in the case said this was a clear violation of the First Amendment (to the Constitution of the United States) which says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.

The Commonwealth Government is conducting a National Human Rights Consultation with submissions due by June 15. Consider making a submission via your local member of Parliament.

You may dismiss the Philadelphia example as 'only in America' but recently the United Kingdom's Deputy Equalities Minister, Maria Eagle MP, speaking about the Equality Bill said:
“The circumstances in which religious institutions can practice anything less than the full equality are few and far between.While the state would not intervene in narrowly ritual or doctrinal matters within faith groups, these communities cannot claim that everything they run is outside the scope of anti-discrimination law.”

In New South Wales there is legislated access to schools for the teaching of Scripture. How will this fare under a new Human Rights regime?