It's tough out there for persecuted Christian students who were told to deny God - oh wait, that didn't happen - but hey, Fox needs to pimp that Christian victimization meme, so it's all good!
In October, Jordan Wooley, a 7th grade student in Katy Texas, received an assignment which asked if certain statements were either facts or opinions. Included in the list was "There is a God." According to Wooley, her answer, that this could be either fact or opinion, was not accepted by the teacher (a Christian) who then demanded that Wooley say that God isn't real. She claimed that this was done in front of other students but this could not be corroborated. The school said that the now eliminated assignment was done "to encourage critical thinking" and that "it was not intended to question or challenge any student's religious beliefs."
Wooley was so upset that she took her complaint to the school board and, naturally, Fox News was on it. Outnumbered tackled the issue (a "fight over faith"), in its usual fact free manner, in October. The gang took the side of the student by expressing, as "fact," that the teacher told the students that "if they didn't answer the right way, they were going to fail." (Fact - the Superintendent says that the assignment wasn't graded.) The gang also wanted the "irresponsible" teacher, who just might be part of a nationwide pattern, to be fired.
Throughout the piece, the uncorroborated accusation, that the teacher said that "there is no God," was presented as fact. Jordan was heralded as "brave." Andrea Tantaros (Caution - Fox Meme Alert) whined about how Christians are being persecuted for exercising their 1st Amendment and that colleges have become secular "indoctrination camps."
Yesterday, Jordan Wooley appeared on Fox & Friends as part of their patented "Fight for Faith" series. The banner proclaimed that Wooley is "Not Backing Down" and that the school board are "Liars over God Lesson," as Clayton Morris informed us that Wooley is "speaking out again" with her sad tale of being "bullied and told to kill herself after the media coverage." (Does that include Fox News?!) She is also "blaming the school board for making it worse" because, when she publicly accused the board of a "cover-up" and demanded an apology, they declined to comment. She also claimed that students didn't back her up because "they were scared."
The banner proclaimed "Flunked for Faith, Teacher Tells Students to Deny God or Fail." (Fact -the assignment wasn't graded and the teacher denies having said that to Wooley) After Morris read the school's statement, he asked her to tell her story of having "been challenged in class." The banner kept the lie alive: "F on Faith, Teacher Tells Class to Label God as a Myth" as Wooley disparaged the teacher. In describing her experiences, Morris validated her side of the story: "What did you say to your teacher when she said that [God] was a myth."
The banner read "Beliefs Challenged" as Wooley told her said tale of what nasty people are supposedly saying to her. Morris provided more validation: "You know who your true friends are when you're really challenged like this." In closing, described her as "amazing" and urged her to "stay strong."
Ain't no party like a persecuted Christian party and Fox News is bringing it!
Addendum: Fox News Insider's article about Wooley's persecution is titled "Texas 7th-Grader Who Refused to Deny God Calls School Board 'Liars.' The irony here is that the child was not forced to deny God - so who is really lying?