Buddhist sixth grader allegedly told to “change his religion” by Louisiana public school officials (updated)

Buddhist sixth grader allegedly told to “change his religion” by Louisiana public school officials.

Konchog Norbu23 January 2014

Buddhist sixth grader allegedly told to “change his religion” by Louisiana public school officials.

Suppose you were a Buddhist parent in America and your sixth grader told you his public school teacher was teaching that evolution was false, “the universe was created by God about 6,000 years ago” and called your family’s religious beliefs “stupid” in front of the whole class because you wrote in something other than “Lord” for this test question: “ISN’T IT AMAZING WHAT THE ________ HAS MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

You might object and expect the teacher to be reprimanded and her curriculum, and perhaps career, undergo serious review. But not at Negreet High School in Sabine Parish, Louisiana, where this exact scenario happened to Asian Buddhist parents, according to Raw Story.

“When the outraged parents confronted Sabine Parish Superintendent Sara Ebarb about the incidents, she allegedly told them ‘this is the Bible belt’ and that they ‘shouldn’t be offended’ to ‘see God here.’ Ebarb advised that [their son] C.C. should either change his faith or be transferred to another District school where ‘there are more Asians.’”

The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU Louisiana jointly filed suit yesterday against the school and parish on behalf of C.C.’s parents. Read all the details here.

Update: Click here to read the statement by C.C.’s father, Scott Lane, at the ACLU site.

Konchog Norbu

Konchog Norbu

Konchog Norbu became a Buddhist in 1990 and ordained as a monk in 1993. Since then, he has overseen communications and media relations for several dharma organizations, authored the widely-read blog Dreaming of Danzan Ravjaa during a four-year stint in Mongolia, and filled his begging bowl on occasion with freelance writing and editing gigs.