A religious liberty organization is threatening to sue NASA after employees were told they could not use the name "Jesus" in workplace announcements for a club.
On Feb. 8, the Liberty Institute sent a demand letter to NASA in connection to an incident at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In June 2015, employees at Johnson were told they could no longer mention the name "Jesus" in emailed announcements for a Christian praise and worship club.
According to Liberty, the NASA JSC Praise and Worship Club began in 2001 with members meeting during lunch for songs and prayer. The club, which is open to all space agency's workers and contractors, routinely submitted announcements to NASA's daily email newsletter.
In May, the club's announcement said:
"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."
Shortly after the announcement was published, members of the legal team from NASA JSC told the club's organizers they could not include the name "Jesus" in its announcements since it could create the impression that NASA was endorsing Christianity over other religions and therefore violating the Constitution's Establishment Clause. Any future announcements could refer to "Praise and Worship" but not mention the name of Jesus, attorneys said.
Liberty said that restriction equals religious discrimination.
"It is illegal for the government to censor the name of Jesus in employee emails," said Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel for Liberty Institute. "Censoring a religious club's announcement to specifically exclude the name 'Jesus' is blatant religious discrimination."
In a statement, NASA denied the allegations.
"NASA does not prohibit the use of any specific religious names in employee newsletters or other internal communications," said Karen Northon of NASA. "The agency allows a host of employee-led civic, professional, religious and other organizations to meet on NASA property on employees' own time.
"Consistent with federal law, NASA attempts to balance employees' 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," she added.
Liberty and attorneys Fish & Richardson are representing the NASA employees.