The suit brought by Joseph Lewis, president of the Free Thinkers Society, to restrain the New York City Board of Education from permitting the reading of the Bible and the singing of hymns in the public schools, on the ground that they violate State and Federal constitutional provisions with regard to religious freedom, was dismissed on Wednesday by Supreme Court Justice Ford without an opinion.
The reading of the Bible has been authorized under a provision of the City charter which has been in existence for seventy-nine years, counsel of the Board of Education argued before the court. They also declared that school principals are allowed to choose the passages to be read, while pupils who object to the reading may be excused. Consequently, they argued, the reading of the Bible in the schools is no interference with religious liberty.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
