I was in class the other day and my teacher out of noweher started
quoting the Bible to refer to a point in our class.  I felt kind of
awkward becasue I am of a different religion.  Is this a basis to sue?
 Would this be worth it to sue?  I did feel wierd and out of place.

---

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 10 Nov 2005 12:14 PST

Hello sleep3-ga,

Where is the school? City, state. What grade is this class? What
subject? Was this a one time incident or does this happen regularly?
Have you spoken to the teacher or the administration about your
concerns? The more you can tell us about the context of your question,
the more likely someone will be able to get you the information you
need.

~ czh ~

---

Clarification of Question by sleep3-ga on 10 Nov 2005 14:19 PST

well it is universityy of phoenix.  so far it was my first class and i
havent been to another class since.  I dont feel like going to class,
cuz i think im the only non-christian there.  I dont have anything
against christianity, i beleive in equality.  i just felt out of
place.  it was a reference which went something lie this,  "then he
saq god move around swifly like a light"  somthing like that.  he was
trying to refer to the story of moses when he saw God.  he quoted the
exact point in the bible to what he was referring to.  It is a
university.  I havent went to administration about it yet.  i wanted
to get advice first. I would like to sue for money, but right now im
just trying find out if its worth it.

---

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 10 Nov 2005 15:06 PST

Hello again sleep3-ga,

I hear your distress but I still can't evaluate the experience you've
had because you didn't answer all my questions.


czh:  Where is the school? City, state.

sleep3-ga: "well it is universityy of phoenix."

QUESTION: Is this an online class? If not, where is it? City, state.

------------

czh: What grade is this class? What subject? 

sleep3-ga: No answer.

QUESTION: What level university class is this? Are you a freshman?
What is the subject? Religious references may be valid in some classes
while out of bounds in others. What is the title of the course?

------------

czh: Was this a one time incident or does this happen regularly?

sleep3-ga:   "so far it was my first class and i havent been to
another class since.  I dont feel like going to class, cuz i think im
the only non-christian there.  I dont have anything against
christianity, i beleive in equality.  i just felt out of place.  it
was a reference which went something lie this,  "then he saq god move
around swifly like a light"  somthing like that.  he was trying to
refer to the story of moses when he saw God.  he quoted the exact
point in the bible to what he was referring to.

QUESTION: It seems inappropriate to jump to conclusions about a
teacher based on a one-time remark. It is inappropriate to stop going
to class because you don't like what you hear there -- especially
after just one class. One of the objectives of college education is to
expose you to new ideas. It's impossible to evaluate whether what your
teacher said is offensive because you've not defined the context.

------------

czh: Have you spoken to the teacher or the administration about your
concerns? 

sleep3-ga: "I havent went to administration about it yet.  i wanted to
get advice first. I would like to sue for money, but right now im just
trying find out if its worth it."

QUESTION: The proper way to seek a remedy about anything that you
perceive as offensive at school is to first talk to the teacher. If
you can't straighten things out with the teacher, take it up with the
administration. Most universities have policies and procedures to deal
with this kind of conflicts. (What is the location of your school?)
You have no basis for filing a suit based on the information you've
provided here because you haven't shown that the school violated your
rights or its own policies.


Please answer the questions I've asked so that we can properly advise
you on how to proceed.

All the best.

~ czh ~

---

Clarification of Question by sleep3-ga on 11 Nov 2005 12:54 PST

Houston, TX, senior level class, subject is management.

I am not a lawyer so I could be way off, but I believe that the
occasional mention of a book  does not constitute basis for legal
claims. If he/she was to use the bible as a ?text book? then yes of
course, but a reference to it here and there can not be omitted if
that is part of his/her beliefs. It is likely that a person of any
other religion would mention parts of his/her religion in passing
without giving it a second or even first thought for that matter. The
only people that this would not apply to are those that are atheist by
nature and those that are simply people no longer influenced by
religion in any manner.

My understanding of an atheist is that of somebody that although does
not believe in the supernatural, is still ruled by his conviction of
the non-existence  of a ?life? after death. For the others theological
discussions are simply not worth spending time on. They are no more
religious than cows no more atheists than horses.

Eli

Keep in mind that Liberace was able to successfully sue magazines that
suggested that he was anything but a two fisted red blooded
hetrosexual.So what does a lawsuit prove?

Get over it.  Move on.

Did the teacher say that you are a bad person and will rot in hell? 
What exactly did the teacher say?

Even if you sue, it is unlikely you'll get any money.

If a school were to expunge references to the Bible from coursework,
much of western literature and history would have to be omitted.
Regardless of one's feelings about the Bible, it has been a
significant influence in our culture. For a teacher to make reference
to the Bible and/or quote from it is not, and should not be, illegal.
Mentioning something is not the same as endorsing it.

This reminds me of a controversy that arose a few years ago in my
area. A group of parents were outraged that a work by Karl Marx was on
an "acceptable reading" list in a high school class. These parents
seemed to think that anyone who read Karl Marx would instantly turn
into a Communist.

It is my opinion that if we seek schooling that is fully in accord
with our own beliefs, we aren't likely to learn much.

You want to sue in order to get compensation.... that was not
mentioned in your first post. That being the case the answer is
definitely not. You can not get financial compensation for that. As
you have suffered no loss in any way shape or form, this is clearly
not something the university is endorsing so there is no need to set a
punitive amount to 'send a message' to the school.

I thought your intent was to sue to insure that christian and/or other
religious beliefs were not promoted in a place of higher education, if
that were the case it would be highly doubtful that your case would be
admitted in court but not impossible. However, since you are seeking
compensation, there is no chance that your case would even be heard.
It would and should be classified under frivolous lawsuit, IMO.

Eli

You cannot sue your school for using the Bible as a reference in this
case. You mentioned that your school is the University of Phoenix.
They are, as far as I know, a private institution. Separation of
church and state as a doctrine applies to public entities--those
supported by state, local, or federal funds. They do not apply to
institutions that are [primarily] supported by private--i.e.
nongovernment--funds. UoP is a private institution and therefore is
not under the church/state separation.

Even if this were a government institution, the chances of you getting
monetary compensation is extremely low because you must prove damages,
which in this case is not readily apparent.

Everything you don't like is not a lawsuit.  You have no case and you
would not win one penny in court.
However, reading your post has angered me.  I will consult an attorney
today to see if I can sue you for posting this question in a public
forum in a way that angered me.