School district bans distribution of Christian purity flyers after receiving complaint

An Indiana school district has stopped allowing a local Christian group from distributing promotional flyers following a complaint from an atheist group.

Warrick County Schools said that the non-denominational group known as Pearls of Purity (POP) Girls are no longer allowed to distribute its flyers after it received a letter of complaint from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) last month.

The FFRF lamented that the Christian group promotes the "wisdom of Christ" and aims to convert others to Christianity. It warned against allowing the distribution of flyers, stating that it can be construed as an official endorsement from the school.

In response to the complaint, Warrick County Superintendent Brad Schneider explained that the flyers were for informational purposes only, and the school does not endorse the content of the promotional material.

"We simply provide the information and allow parents to determine if they would like their child to participate or not participate," Schneider wrote in the letter dated Jan. 24.

He said that he reviewed the promotional flyer in question and agreed that it should not have been approved.

"This flyer should not have been approved and we will put steps in place to prevent objectionable flyers to slip through the cracks in the future. You have my word that flyers of this nature will not be distributed home in the future," he added.

POP Girls described itself on its official website as an organization "that encourages both the parents and girls to live a life of purity in body, mind, and heart." The FFRF claimed in its letter that the Christian organization's lessons of purity "include homophobic and anti-transgender views."

The atheist organization urged the school district to amend its flyer policy and suggested that all third-party take-home flyers be banned. It recommended that the school district should require all flyers to include disclaimers and prohibit promotional materials that promote discrimination, in case that it is unwilling to ban third-party flyers altogether.

FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor expressed her approval of the decision to ban the flyers and commended the school district for addressing the issue promptly.