By Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 14, 2005; Page B03
A Christian comedy team that performed at five Southern Maryland
public schools and invited students to an off-campus pizza party prompted a complaint
yesterday from the American Civil Liberties Union.
In a letter to Charles County Superintendent James E.
Richmond, the ACLU of Maryland said the program is "intended as a vehicle
for religious proselytizing" and violates the First Amendment. Legal
director Deborah A. Jeon wrote that "while these performers are free to
disseminate whatever religious message they choose, they may not use the public
schools to do so."
Rick and Mick Vigneulle have performed at two high schools
and three middle schools in Charles County this year. A schools spokeswoman
said the program, "Attitude Check," promotes anti-drug, anti-suicide
and motivational messages.
The duo did not return a call to their Alabama office
yesterday.
School officials previewed and approved the program in
April, said spokeswoman Katie O'Malley Simpson, and "they didn't perceive
it as religious."
The ACLU's complaint was made at the request of Candace
Slobodnik, whose sixth-grader attended the assembly. "It's unbelievable to
me that this was allowed in our schools," said Slobodnik, a teacher in
Prince George's County. "Their whole message everywhere you look is
religious and extremely evangelical."
The Vigneulles' Web site says the ministry has performed for
20 years in hundreds of high schools. "As a result of this major
evangelistic outreach, over 15,000 students and adults have made decisions for
Christ in the last two years alone!"
The pair write that "since most public high schools do
not allow religious content," students are invited to an off-site Pizza
Blast, which offers an opportunity to receive "Christ after hearing a
clear and positive presentation of the gospel."
The school system did not give the Vigneulles permission to
distribute fliers for the pizza party, O'Malley Simpson said.