School bus driver whines about freedom of religion after being caught forcing kids to pray — again

A pastor moonlighting as a school bus driver in Minnesota who has twice been caught proselytizing to children complained that being taken off his route for leading children in prayer violates his First Amendment rights.

Hemant Mehta at Patheos' "The Friendly Atheist" blog noted that Burnsville, Minnesota's George Nathaniel was already fired four years ago by the town's school board for "forcing children to pray" on his route. Now, he's been taken off his route driving kids to a Russian-language charter school in Minneapolis for doing the same thing.

Speaking to Minneapolis' Star-Tribune, Nathaniel said that he's got "got the freedom to exercise your religious beliefs" based on the Constitution's freedom of religion protections. But according to Muk Musa, the owner of the transportation company that hired him, officials at the Nasha Shkola school got complaints that Nathaniel "was influencing minors to the point where he was forcing them to pray."

Nathaniel, who has not yet been fired, said he began incorporating prayer into the nearly two-hour-long bus rides over the winter.

"The students would volunteer to lead the prayer," he told the Star-Tribune, adding that he was surprised when parents began complaining.

"He’s not going to change," Musa said. "His main focus is to influence even one person in following what he worships."