Dismissal of Charges of Promotion of Paganism Is Appealed

June 30, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On June 30, 2001, The New York Times reported that "the guardian of two children in the Bedford school district has asked the United States Supreme Court to overturn a ruling dismissing claims that the district promoted paganism, New Age thinking and the occult." The claims were made by "three Roman Catholic families in 1996 [who] asserted that a high school Earth Day ceremony with drum-playing and the offering of gifts crossed the line into worship of the planet."