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SHELBY — Recently faith leaders raised red flags over kindergarteners participating in yoga during class without parental consent. The group of pastors believe yoga in Shelby City Schools is not just ‘going thru the motions,’ but rather, sanctioning Eastern Religion. After meeting with clergy and writing a response letter, the School Superintendent contends no religious activities occurred during class. On the flipside, the clergy maintain the Superintendent’s response gives no guarantee classroom yoga will not occur again.
“Eastern Religion Yoga has become the politically-correct religion of public schools,” says Pastor Hank Webb, one of the 15 clergy who wrote an earlier letter to the School Superintendent. “We are requesting the School Board discontinue this controversial practice altogether and put it in writing. Calling yoga poses ‘secular’ is like having students consume wafers and grape juice while meditating, and then calling it an ‘afternoon snack.’ We are warning the School Board to be mindful of the Establishment Clause.”
Superintendent Michael Browning claims the yoga session at Shelby Elementary was an optional activity offered to Pre K thru 2nd grade students for secular purposes on “Club Day.” Browning says the yoga session did not include any teaching about or discussion of religion.
“Although the yoga session in question did not involve any teaching about religion, I understand that you (the clergy) are concerned about ensuring that religious practices are not being taught in public schools,” Browning wrote the clergy. “We will remind our teachers of the dictates of Board Policy that any teaching about religion should be objective, avoid any doctrinal impact, and avoid any implication that religious doctrines have the support of school authority. We have not had a Club Day since that day in November. I will have each principal talk to staff about activities and Board Policy,” he said.
Browning, a yoga practitioner himself, has more than 20 years experience in education, and has no religious credentials. Despite the lack of religious qualifications, Browning attempted to go toe to toe over theology with the clergymen, even questioning them on their Biblical understanding.
“We are requesting the Shelby School Board discontinue this controversial practice altogether and put it in writing. Calling yoga poses ‘secular’ is like having students consume wafers and grape juice while meditating, and then calling it an ‘afternoon snack.’ We are warning the School Board to be mindful of the Establishment Clause.”
Pastor Hank Webb
“We appreciate what Superintendent Browning has to say about educating our students, but perhaps there could be some acknowledgement of our expertise,” says Pastor James Marshall, one of the clergy cosigners. “With our religious vocation, we might know a thing or two about what actions are religious components of a belief system. When we point out that the practice of yoga is idolatry according to our orthodox understanding of the Bible, maybe he could stay in his own lane. The pertinent facts are the empirical data, the courts, and the Hindu theologians themselves call yoga a religious activity, which makes it unlawful in public schools.”
In their response letter to the school board, the clergy cited a 2016 national study of 500 yoga practitioners which found 69% of students and instructors in secular yoga change their primary reason for practicing. Most initiate yoga practice for exercise and stress relief, but the study concluded for many, spirituality becomes their primary reason for maintaining practice. This is not seen in other forms of exercise.”
“The Courts have repeatedly ruled yoga and meditation are religious practices,” the pastors told the Shelby School Board. “A 1988 Arkansas case commonly known as Powell v. Perry concluded ‘yoga is a method of practicing Hinduism.’ The Ninth District Court of Appeals ruled in a 1995 case that the ‘Hindu-Yoga spiritual tradition’ is a ‘religious tradition.’ Lack of recent court victories regarding classroom religious practices are because of lucrative court settlements school districts have made with families admitting ‘no admission of liability’ while paying off students’ families like in Chicago in 2024, and in San Diego in 2022,” the clergy wrote.
In their letter, the clergy told the School Board, “The Superintendent mentioned the local YMCA in his letter as his example for community acceptance of yoga as ‘secular exercise.’ His example actually strengthens our (clergy) position that yoga is religious as many YMCA branches offer corporate prayer and even chaplains at its facilities. Furthermore, unlike standard fitness centers, the Shelby YMCA has a religious tax-exemption similar to other yoga studios. In fact, a YMCA blog from January 24, 2025 discusses the so-called spiritual benefits of yoga.
“To be clear, secular exercise does not provide spiritual benefits unless it is religious in nature. It is our (clergy) observation regarding the issue of yoga that a dishonest ‘bait and switch’ is occurring. If there is concern about religious entanglement, then yoga is portrayed as a ‘secular practice.’ When the need arises to tout yoga’s benefits, then practitioners claim yoga positively impacts the spirituality of its participants,” the faith leaders commented.
Since the Superintendent indicated in his meeting that the School Board as a whole is not supportive of the activities that took place November 25th, the clergy are hoping the School Board could provide a written response to their email, closing any loopholes by prohibiting all yoga activities during class.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in Psalm 44, “If we had forgotten the Name of our GOD or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not GOD have discovered it, since He knows the secrets of the heart?”
View investigative report on The Dangers of Children’s Yoga. An ex-yoga instructor discusses the bait & switch the yoga industry employs. A chiropractor also discusses injuries from child yoga at 33 min. marker (67 min.)
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