Atheist, daughter oppose moment of silence

CHICAGO, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- An atheist activist and his 14-year-old daughter have filed a lawsuit against an Illinois school district to block a mandated moment of silence in schools.

Activist Rob Sherman, joined by his daughter Dawn, filed their lawsuit in U.S. District Court this week to prevent the Township High School District 214 from requiring a mandatory moment of silence in local schools, The Chicago Tribune said Saturday.

The measure has already been approved by local officials and is set to begin taking place in all district schools Tuesday.

But the family duo opposes the implementation of the moment of silence, alleging that such a mandatory act would violate the constitutional separation of church and state.

"The whole purpose for changing the law is to get more prayer in the public schools and everybody knows it," the elder Sherman said, the Tribune reported. "Private business should be done on personal time, not time paid for by the taxpayers."

The lawsuit was not supported by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, whose spokesman told the Tribune that the moment of silence was not legally objectionable.