Canada: humanist attempts to force Gideons out of schools

A humanist in Canada is seeking to stop the Gideons from distributing free copies of the Bible in schools.

Rene Chouinard says it is biased for the Bible to be distributed but not free atheist literature.

He offered some free atheist material to schools, hoping that it would result in ending the Bible distribution.

Removed

He said it was not his intention to hand out truckloads of literature, he just wanted to force the school board to “show its hand.”

His campaign began in 2010. Now, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has agreed to hear his case.

Mr Chouinard welcomed the decision, saying: “We would like to see religion completely removed from the classroom.”

Demanding

Earlier this year it emerged that Scottish police forces had been told not to accept a gift of free Bibles from the Gideons because the book “condemns homosexuality”.

The Bibles had been offered to Scottish police forces featuring each force’s badge.

But the Gay Police Association (GPA) was against the move, and issued a statement demanding that the forces refuse to be involved. Trade union UNISON joined with the GPA in opposing the offer of free Bibles for Scottish police forces.

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