A Texas judge has given temporary permission  to allow high school cheerleaders to continue painting Bible verses on posters displayed at the football games. School district officials banned the slogans. Parents of the cheerleaders sued and the judge granted a temporary injunction against the ban until a full trial takes place on June 24, 2013.

This is a sampling of the Biblical texts used on posters and banners at the high school:

• If God is for us who can be against us
• Never let loyalty and faithfulness (cross) leave you
• Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I am Lord your God and will be with you wherever you go
• I can do all things through Christ which strengthens
• And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us

Texas Governor Rick Perry supported the religious slogans and cheerleaders.

“We’re a nation that’s built on the concept of free expression of ideas,” Mr. Perry said. “We’re also a culture built upon the concept that the original law is God’s law, outlined in the Ten Commandments. If you think about it, the Kountze cheerleaders simply wanted to call a little attention to their faith and to their Lord.”

Are all religions created equal?

Would Governor Perry and the parents feel the same way if the religious quotes were from the Koran, Bhagavad Gita, or Book of Mormon? The selected Bible quote for each weeks banner is rotated among the different cheerleaders. If they had Muslim, Hindu or Mormon cheerleader, would they allow a quote from her sacred scriptures? Potential religious slogans from other faiths might include

• Jewish cheer: “King David is our Quarterback of faith”
• Hindu cheer: “Ganesh is our protector”
• Polytheists cheer: “Our Goddesses give us strength”
• Islam cheer: “Allahu Akbar, Allah is great”
• Atheist cheer: “Genetics makes us invincible, not a God”

Dazed and confused

I can only imagine the stunned look on the bible belt Christians in Texas reading about a God that is not their own. The bottom line is that no religion should be expressed in school or organized sporting activity outside of faith based student groups that meet in private.

What is the harm of these little Bible verses? Probably very little as most people of common sense ignore such expressions of religiosity. However, America is about inclusion not exclusion. We have achieved a strong group of citizens because we don’t allow any religion to dominate either government or business. With a business you can decide to patronize them based on your comfort level with their espoused faith.

Because government, like public education, has a near monopoly for many services that people must participate in, it has been in America’s best interest not to slap an official religion on any department or service. This allows citizens of all faiths to feel as if they can participate fully in government and democracy.

The real world

The town of Kountze, the cheerleaders and Gov. Perry need to wake up and realize that not everyone thinks like them. Not everyone is a Christian. Not everyone appreciates, including many Christians, being preached to at a high school football games. A person’s faith is personal. It is completely understandable that the cheerleaders want to convey a sense of protection and pump up the players confidence before the game. But no God will be with them on the field. The God(s) of each player be in the heart of each student on the field.