This may almost be a non-story, but I’m sure it’s going to be making the rounds anyway, so it’s worth mentioning. Various British publications have addressed this story, but the one I chose to excerpt handles the story very well… as a journalist should.

By Sarah Ebner, Times Online:

The story of the receptionist facing the sack after her daughter talked about Jesus in class…..Is all as it seems?

Now this is a strange one – and it’s getting people very worked up over at the Daily Mail today. It’s the story of Jennie Cain, whose daughter was apparently reprimanded for talking about heaven and god with a friend. Young Jasmine apparently told her mother: “My teacher told me I couldn’t talk about Jesus.”

After Jasmine, aged 5, was told off, her mother emailed 10 close friends from her Church. However, the email was seen by the headteacher of the school which Jasmine attends and where she happens to work part-time: Landscore Primary, in Crediton, Devon. It’s now claimed that Mrs Cain is being investigated for “Professional misconduct” for allegedly making claims against the school and its staff.

The case is being flagged up by those who say that Christians are now being “persecuted” for their beliefs. Mrs Cain told the Daily Telegraph that her children were now confused as to what to say about their faith.

“I think there is something about what I represent, about what the three of us represent,” she said. “This action that has been taken against me, how it has escalated, how trapped I feel – it is overwhelming. The speed at which it has got to a place where I am being investigated for misconduct and could be dismissed, it is shocking.”

Mrs Cain said that the email she sent was from her home computer, and was a prayer request to please pray for Jasmine, the family, school and church. She said that she does not know how it got into the headteacher’s hands.

However, the headteacher, Mr Read, told BBC news that the story was not necessarily what it seemed. He says that he received the email after it was forwarded by a member of the Church’s congregation, and that the incident occurred after Jasmine told her friend she would ‘go to hell’ if she did not believe in God.

Mr Read told the BBC: “This is not an issue about Christianity, it is about religious intolerance. Jasmine told another pupil ‘if you don’t believe in God you’re going to go to hell. The girl was upset and her teacher asked me for advice about what to do. Jasmine was told it is not OK to say that, but it is OK to discuss what you believe with others.”

Tracy Lawton, a recent parent-governor at the school, told School Gate that she would be very surprised if a teacher had told a child off in the way reported in the Telegraph and Mail.

“Children are very innocent and they should be allowed to express their opinions,” she says. “But Landscore is a very good school, and one which understands all cultures. I can’t imagine this happening there.”

An interesting case of people getting very worked up, and possibly not knowing all the facts? Or “another” attack on Christians? Only a few people know for sure what happened, but lots have been quick to condemn.

I would like very much to see that e-mail.