Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Bible study - they're all the same according to the U.S. Supreme Court. Well, at least when it comes to holding after-school meetings in public school buildings.

On Monday, in an historic decision, the Supreme Court ruled that "The Good News Club," an after-school program in upstate New York, was entitled to use a local public school building for their Bible study, which includes prayers and religious songs.

In a 6-3 decision, it was found that excluding the club was unconstitutional discrimination, and allowing the Christian organization to use the public school after hours was by no means an example of government establishment of religion. If other groups are welcome to use the building, the school has opened up a public forum, and therefore it would be discriminatory to ban the club based on its religious affiliation.

While club leader, Darlene Fournier, claims that her club is simply using the school building after hours, opponents feel that allowing the bible study to occur in the public school is a direct violation of the separation of church and state. Justice David Souter, who was in the voting minority, claims that club meetings, "blur the line between public classroom instruction and private religious indoctrination, leaving a reasonable elementary school pupil unable to appreciate that the former instruction is the business of the school while the latter evangelism is not."

Will these elementary school children be able to understand that their school is not endorsing Christianity when after-school Bible study activities are held AT the school? Will this decision have a negative affect on those children who do not follow one of the major religions? Are you concerned that the line between Church and State will now become blurred, or is the Supreme Court's ruling a triumph for free speech?

Carolyn Lastowski, Editor