A disturbing trend is spreading across the country where public school officials attempt to silence students who want to publicly express their Christian faith.
But high school senior Moriah Bridges wouldn’t stand for that.
As the senior class president of Beaver High School in Beaver County, Penn., Bridges was asked to give the closing address at the school’s June 2nd graduation ceremony.
But when Bridges turned in her first draft for approval, the administration ordered her to “remove all religious references” from the speech:
The administration initially wanted graduate Moriah Bridges to “remove all religious references” from her commencement address, including the words “God,” “Lord” and a prayer she had included. Effectively, they wanted her to silence Jesus.
Unfortunately for the administration, Bridges would not be silenced. Not only did she reveal in her speech that she was told she couldn’t pray, but she ended it by giving thanks to Jesus Christ:
“I’ve always been a rule follower,” Bridges stated at the end of her speech. “When they said not to chew gum, I didn’t chew gum. When they said not to use your cellphone, I didn’t use my cellphone. But today, in the spirit of defying expectations, and for perhaps the last time at this podium, I say, ‘in the righteous name of Jesus Christ, Amen.’”
Watch the speech below:
Bridges is now being represented by First Liberty, a religious freedom law firm, which has accused the Beaver Area School District of violating Bridges’s First Amendment rights.
In a statement issued to Faithwire, Bridges said, “I hope the school district will realize their mistake and make sure future students never have to go through this again.”
Share this if you stand with Moriah Bridges and Christian students everywhere!