The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has given the American Humanist Association (AHA) its annual “Ebenezer Award” for trying to stop a public school from partnering with a religious group to help the poor.

AHA sued Douglas County School District for partnering with Samaritan’s Purse, a group run by evangelist Franklin Graham that promotes Christian evangelization in addition to providing material assistance to the poor. The program AHA objects to is known as Operation Christmas Child, which according to its website has “delivered more than 135 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 150 countries and territories” since 1993, and “hopes … to reach another 12 million children” in 2016.

AHA Legal Director David Niose told The Stream that his group opposes the partnership because “it is unquestionably a religious program wit a goal of proselytizing and conversion.” According to Niose, “Becket would have you believe that the Samaritan’s Purse program is an innocent effort to help children,” though he described it as “subsidizing the work of a Christian ministry.”

AHA lost its case when a federal court “ruled on January 20 that the local families on whose behalf the lawsuit was filed do not have standing,” explained Niose. “However, these families are taxpayers in the community and have children in the school district.” AHA, which has sent letters since 2013 opposing public school partnerships with Operation Christmas Child, appealed the decision, eventually arguing in front of the Tenth Circuit Court in November.

According to Becket Law Executive Director Kristina Arriaga in a press statement, “These boxes are filled with school supplies and basic hygiene items. It’s heartbreaking enough that there are children who will receive nothing but a toothbrush for Christmas. The American Humanist Association would deny them even that?”

Niose disagreed with Arriaga’s description, saying his group “supports teaching kids to help those less fortunate” and describing the Ebenezer award as “an unfortunate distortion of facts.”

“Nobody becomes a ‘Scrooge’ by objecting to public schools promoting the plainly religious agenda of an evangelical organization,” he said.

Public-Private Partnerships

Niose said that “many potential problems arise” when public schools and religious groups work together.

“Suppose a school partners with some local churches this way, but then a nearby Satanic Temple hears about the program and says it wants to join — are you going to let the Satanists into your school to help with the feed-the-poor program? Many Christians would be up in arms over such a development.”

Arriaga dismissed this point in an e-mail statement sent to The Stream. “Schools have a right to vet which groups they allow into their schools. The fact that they allow Operation Christmas Child into their school does not necessarily mean they are obligated to accept a so-called Satanist group. That is just AHA’s scare tactics.”

According to Niose, “there is simply no need to have public schools working with religious groups. We often find that there are hidden motives in such efforts, with adults (often faculty members) using the opportunity to promote their specific churches and religious views.” He said the AHA “would object just as strongly” if the school district had any other religious-based partners, and would “object to the district partnering with an explicitly atheist organization.”

“We want the government to remain religiously neutral and not show favoritism or promotion to any religion or viewpoint on religion. There are many programs that serve the poor without taking a stance on religion, such as Oxfam and the Red Cross,” he concluded.

Arriaga told The Stream, “there is nothing in the Constitution that bans the government from working with, cooperating or partnering with faith-based groups. Many prison systems, for instance, allow prison ministries to assist prisoners, many transition homes for ex-convicts are led by faith-based groups and the reality is that oftentimes these partnerships make for much better rates of recidivism than government-run facilities. The government often recognizes the benefit of these partnerships, in fact, the White House itself has an office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

“Ultimately,” said Arriaga, “AHA is not advocating for a pluralistic society. What they want is to have everyone believe what they do, that religion is nothing but second-hand smoke and no one in society should be exposed to it.”