Florida Pastor Says Secular Group Trying To Make America Atheist

A Florida pastor is accusing a national secular group of trying to turn him into an atheist chaplain for a local high school football team.

Pastor Troy Schmidt of Florida told "Fox and Friends" this week that Olympia High School in Orange County, Florida has barred him from leading the school's football team in prayer after receiving a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Under the school district's new rules, Schmidt can still bring the team food, attend their games and encourage players, but he cannot lead them in prayer.

Schmidt told "Fox and Friends" that he thinks the Freedom From Religion Foundation is violating his constitutional rights to freedom of religion by banning him from praying with the students. He also said he believes the national secular group is trying to create an atheist nation.

"Well, I don't think they've read the Constitution," the pastor said in response to the atheist group's decision. "It's pretty clear that they cannot prohibit my free expression of my faith or the free expression of the coaches to express their faith."

"They're telling us to be atheists, when we want to say this is what we believe," he continues. "And we want to express it freely like the Constitution says."

Schmidt's recent struggle is similar to that of Chestatee High School in Gainesville, California, which was recently criticized by the American Humanist Association for allowing coaches to lead players in prayer ahead of their football games. The school has defended itself, telling the atheist group that the prayer occurred over a year ago and has since stopped, and one of the coaches who previously led players in prayer is no longer with the district.