Jackson Free Press

"We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools. Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?"

—Former Arkansas governor and current Fox News pundit Mike Huckabee after Friday's deadly shooting in Connecticut that left 28 dead.

Why it stinks: Good grief. Huckabee is wrong on the law and wrong theologically.

First, the law hasn't "systematically removed God" from schools. Christian students--and students of all faiths--can pray any time as long as they don't disrupt classes. They can invite classmates and teachers to worship services; they can say grace before meals, and can organize and participate in after-school religious clubs. What the First Amendment restricts are public-school teachers and students putting their religions on the syllabus and forcing those with different beliefs to learn or conform to religious doctrine in the classroom. Those teachings belong in churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and homes. America is not a theocracy, and that's basic constitutional separation of church and state that guarantees religious freedom for all of us.

Second, from most theological points of view (including the majority of Christian sects), God is omnipresent. Believers know that people don't have the power to remove God from designated brick-and-mortar buildings. And few believe that God is so personally petty and spiteful that he would slaughter 6- and 7-year-olds because he is pissed off that our Constitution doesn't want the government telling us how and when to pray.