HOUSTON (WBAP/KLIF News) – A Christian group in Houston has filed a complaint against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) over a reference to Jesus.
A club at Johnson Space Center wanted to include the phrase “Jesus is our life” in an announcement in the center’s newsletter.
It appeared in the May 28, 2015 edition as follows:
Join with the praise and worship band “Allied with the Lord” for a refreshing set of spring praise and worship songs on Thursday, June 4, from 11:15 a.m. to noon in Building 57, Room 106. (The theme for this session will be “Jesus is our life!”) Prayer partners will be available for anyone who has need. All JSC civil servants and contractors are welcome.
The JSC Praise & Worship Club was directed by NASA attorneys to refrain from using “Jesus” in its announcements. The club’s organizers claim they offered to provide a disclaimer that the announcement wasn’t endorsed by NASA, but they said the offer was rejected.
Liberty Institute threatened to file a federal lawsuit unless NASA apologizes. The group claims NASA is trying to censor the club, citing Buzz Aldrin’s taking of communion on the Moon during Apollo 11, and the reading the creation story as the crew of Apollo 8 orbited the Moon.
NASA issued a statement, which said it does not prohibit the use of any specific religious names in employee newsletters or other internal communications. “The agency allows a host of employee-led civic, professional, religious and other organizations to meet on NASA property on employee’s own time. Consistent with federal law, NASA attempts to balance employee’s rights to freely exercise religious beliefs with its obligation to ensure there is no government endorsement of religion. We believe in and encourage open and diverse dialogue among our employees and across the agency,” the statement read.
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