**(See Chicago Dyke's post here.)

Another stunning example emerges, of the Christian Right's version of "free to be me," which invariably involves making claims that the privileging of Christianity in various ways at various levels of governement is a constitionally protected claim to religious liberty.

A large Delaware school district promoted Christianity so aggressively that a Jewish family felt it necessary to move to Wilmington, two hours away, because they feared retaliation for filing a lawsuit. The religion (if any) of a second family in the lawsuit is not known, because they're suing as Jane and John Doe; they also fear retaliation. Both families are asking relief from "state-sponsored religion."

What might those two families mean by that phrase, "state-sponsored religion?"

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The Dobriches have a litany of complaints about the school board’s alleged promotion of Christianity, including the claim that members of Bible Clubs were allowed to jump the queue for lunch. One reported incident appears particularly egregious, concerning Samantha Dobrich’s 2004 graduation:

She was the only Jewish student in her graduating class. The complaint relates that local pastor, Jerry Fike, in his invocation, followed requests for "our heavenly Father's" guidance for the graduates with:

I also pray for one specific student, that You be with her and guide her in the path that You have for her. And we ask all these things in Jesus' name.

Think about that for a moment. A Jewish student and her family are singled out by a speaker, who happens to be a Christian pastor, at a public school graduation, singled out for a special benediction, in Jesus' name, and clearly not the phrophet Jesus, no, this was the Christian Jesus, the son of God, the single source for personal salvation.

Nor are those involved on the "Christian" side of this conflict marginal players - among those who have taken an interest are such luminaries as the Rev. James Kennedy, who served as a congressional pastor, whose ministry includes 'The Center for Reclaiming America for Christ,' and 'Concerned Women of America'have similary waded into the conflict.

Although covered by the local Delaware press, it's been our side of the blogishere that has made an issue of this story, and Bartholomew of Bartholomew's notes on religion deserves particlar credit. In addition to his own reporting, he had the brilliant idea of clueing in The General to the story, who responded with an appropriate, typically brilliant take on the matter, congratulating the founder of the "StopThe ACLU Alliance,(STACLU), not to be confused with the blog of a similar name, (though God only knows you could be forgiven for doing so), for his success in purging the area of at least one Jewish family.

You will find it hard to believe the response of the object of the General's letter, which is also discussed at Dispatches From The Culture War, a most worthy blog.

Yesterday, I wrote a post on a specific example of action taken by one of the framers of our constitution, James Madison, to thwart in the Virginia assembly, an attempt to levy a tax to support Christian teachers. Madison's words deserve to be read in the context of this all too contemporary story. If you missed it, you can find the post here.