Kicking God Out of Kentucky?

From USA Today

FRANKFORT, Kentucky (AP) — A group of atheists filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to remove part of a state anti-terrorism law that requires Kentucky's Office of Homeland Security to acknowledge it can't keep the state safe without God's help.

American Atheists Inc. sued in state court over a 2002 law that stresses God's role in Kentucky's homeland security alongside the military, police agencies and health departments.

Of particular concern is a 2006 clause requiring the Office of Homeland Security to post a plaque that says the safety and security of the state "cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon almighty God" and to stress that fact through training and educational materials.

The plaque, posted at the Kentucky Emergency Operations Center in Frankfort, includes the Bible verse: "Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

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Kentucky Atheist Sues Over Son's Catholic School

A father in La Grange, Ky., is in court trying to keep his son from attending a Catholic high school. David Ryan, the father, is an atheist and the mother, from whom he is divorced, is a Roman Catholic. Their eighth-grade son attends a Catholic school in Oldham County.

Ryan's attorney Edwin Kagin said when Ryan and his wife got divorced, a judge ordered their son to continue attending a Catholic school. Ryan, however, wants his son to attend a public high school next year, so Friday, he took the issue in front of a judge in an Oldham County courtroom, WLKY.com reported Friday.
"David feels the orientation and the indoctrination of the church school is harmful to his child," Kagin said. According to court documents, Ryan believes the religious school will attempt to indoctrinate his son into a belief system he as a parent rejects.

Kagin said the case has larger implications. "The issue really does become one of what does church-state separation mean?" he said. Kagin said part of Kentucky's constitution reads, "Nor shall any man be compelled to send his child to any school to which he may be conscientiously opposed."

Reported at www.ReligionAndSpirituality.com