To the Editor:

I am the Christian mother of a sixth grade student who attendsAhoskieElementary School. On November 26, my son came home and informed me that his Social Studies teacher assigned a report on Zeus, a god of the Greek religion.

In the Engel v. Vitale case (1962), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-1 againstNew York’s “Regents’ Prayer” – a non-denominational prayer which state education officials had composed for public school children to recite. The government-sponsored religious devotion was challenged in court by a group of parents from New Hyde Park (some atheists, some believers). Murray O’Hair was not involved in the case at all. However, one year later, a case originated by aPhiladelphiaarea man named Ed Schempp challenged mandatory Bible reading inPennsylvaniaschools which reached the Supreme Court. At the same time, O’Hair was challenging a similar practice as well, recitation of the Lord’s Prayer inMarylandpublic schools.

The Supreme Court consolidated the cases and in 1963 ruled 8-1 that devotional Bible reading or other government-sponsored religious activities in public schools are unconstitutional.

In theUnited States, school prayer is proscribed in accordance with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides the foundation for the separation of church and state.

Zeus is indeed a Greek religion. He has followers who worship him, therefore making him just as unconstitutional as Yahweh, the God of Christianity.

This is my formal request to ban Zeus from public schools on the same grounds that Yahweh was banned and I will take this as far as needed.

Shwanda Mabine