A Christian legal group has successfully cancelled the influence of witchcraft in a public school in the US.
Liberty Counsel, which is a legal organisation centred around religious freedom, states that West Orange High School in Orange County, Florida, had been broadcasting a weekly video series during its midweek announcements entitled “Witchy Wednesday”.
The non-profit organisation says that the videos included instructions on spells, moon worship, and rituals, which led to pushback from parents and other faith groups.
Liberty Counsel argued that the videos resulted in “religious instruction” and violated the rights of Christian students in the institution.
The organisation also wrote a letter to Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), demanding that those “who may wish to share their Christian religious beliefs, will be permitted an opportunity to do so in a similar manner to the ‘Witchy Wednesday’ segment.”
They also requested that “all students and staff who wish to opt out of listening to further episodes of ‘Witchy Wednesday’ (or future student religious content) are afforded an opportunity to do so.”
Liberty Counsel specifies that the first video was played on the 10th of September and opened with the phrase, “Good morning, witches,” followed by instructions on casting a “Light of Insight” spell and conducting a personal cleansing ritual.
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, said that it is the right of Christian students and parents not to participate in religious practices that are contradictory to their faith.
“The First Amendment protects their right to opt out and to share their views equally,” he added.
In a response sent to the legal non-profit, OCPS stated that the school district has instructed the school to put an end to the weekly segments and pledged that “no further segments of this nature will take place.” They also added, “We cannot constitutionally allow such a segment to continue to take place in the future.” They went on to say that, “there is no legal requirement for us to allow the segment to continue into the future. The courts have made it clear that there is no requirement to keep a forum open.”
In a statement, Mr. Staver lauded the institution for their actions. “We commend Orange County Public Schools for taking action to discontinue the ‘Witchy Wednesday’ video segments,” stated Staver. “Witchcraft and teaching students how to cast occultic spells have no place in government schools.” In addition, Liberty Counsel requested a written response from the group by 30th September. Meanwhile, the school district has not publicly commented on the matter.
In their response to Liberty Counsel, the OCPS did, however, state their disappointment in the way that the organisation had drawn attention to the matter via the media.
“The manner in which this matter was handled was surprising, given that both our organisations share the same goal to ensure that all students have their First Amendment free exercise rights respected.”
