c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) The talent show went on without Olivia Turton’s rendition of “Awesome God.” The second-grader wasn’t allowed to sing the Christian pop tune, but her family isn’t giving up their legal fight for her right to sing a religious song in a public school.

“It’s tough when you censor … 8-year-olds,” said Maryann Turton, Olivia’s mother, who challenged the Frenchtown, N.J., school district when it struck the song from a list of acts performed Friday (May 20).

In court filings, Maryann and Robert Turton say their daughter was in tears when she learned on May 10 her song could not be in the show. School officials say religious content made it inappropriate for a school-run event.

Experts on church-state separation cases say the fact that the talent show was an after-school activity and not mandatory may make it difficult for the school to successfully press that argument in court.

Ed Barocas, New Jersey legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said he will support the family if they persist.

“In this situation, they left the choice of song up to the students. Therefore, if a student chooses a religious song, no reasonable person would believe the government was endorsing one or the other,” Barocas said.

Maryann Turton first complained to Olivia’s principal, Joyce Brennan, then spoke at a school board meeting about First Amendment rights and free speech, and asked the school to reconsider.

But the school board said it was sticking to the advice of its attorney, who likened the song to prayer and said it was “impermissible at a school event,” according to the complaint filed on behalf of the Turtons in federal court.

At an emergency hearing held just hours before the show in Trenton, N.J., a U.S. District Court judge refused to order Frenchtown to allow Olivia to sing her song, saying the issue of constitutional rights was too complex to be considered so quickly.

But before ruling, Judge Stanley R. Chesler showed just how complicated the matter could get by singing snatches of other religious songs, including “Amazing Grace,” and asking where the line should be drawn in regard to songs with religious overtones.

School board attorney Russell Weiss declined to comment on the matter, and school officials said they could not comment either.

However, a letter to the Turtons from board President Catherine Lent explained the school’s position that the song was “inappropriate for a school-run event with a captive audience, comprised of, in many cases, quite young children.”

The Turtons are being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, Ariz., a nonprofit legal advocacy group that takes on issues of religious expression. Before filing a complaint, the group sent a letter asking the school to reconsider.

The letter cited case law and stated that religious speech is protected and that the separation of church and state doctrine doesn’t mean religious speech can be banned.

“Not to let this little girl sing is really absurd,” said Demetrios Stratis, a Wayne, N.J., lawyer affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund. “She selected this song on her own, and they keep arguing that it could be perceived as an endorsement of religion. That’s ludicrous.”

Stratis said the family will continue with its suit in an effort to protect their daughter’s rights in her future years in the K-8 school _ not to mention future talent shows.

Olivia did perform Friday with a group of friends. As a grand finale to their number, a perky song from “Annie,” the five girls formed a chorus line, performing with enthusiasm along with the usual missteps of 8-year-olds on stage at their local school talent show.

The audience of 150 in this small Delaware River town gave them thunderous applause, just as they would for one student’s yo-yo tricks and another’s rendition of a Bon Jovi song.

Maryann Turton said the family did not want to become a media sensation and would say very little publicly about the case.

Jeremy Tedesco, litigation staff counsel for the Alliance, described the family as very involved in their church and Olivia as a Christian who wanted to sing the song as a profession of her faith and because she likes it.

“Awesome God” was written by the late Rich Mullins, a well-known troubadour on the Christian music circuit. One verse has these lyrics: “Our God is an awesome God/He reigns from heaven above/ with wisdom, pow’r and love/Our God is an awesome God.”

It was Olivia’s second choice of songs; her first, a jingle from “The Little Mermaid,” was scrapped because she couldn’t find the right karaoke music.

Ronald Chen, associate dean for academic affairs at Rutgers Law School and an expert on church-state relationships, said school districts continue to have difficulty making the distinction between allowing students to express their faith and promoting religion.

“If they are giving students the freedom to express themselves, in a talent show or other forum, … they can’t discriminate,” Chen said. “It’s usually done in good faith by school officials trying to do what the Constitution said, and they just misunderstand.”

MO/RB END RNS