Sarah Palin passed along a debunked claim about a Missouri boy who was allegedly forbidden by his teacher from reading the Bible to himself at school.

The reality TV show star and former vice presidential candidate posted a video on SarahPalinChannel.com about the boy’s claims, which briefly went viral but fell apart under examination, and asked viewers to quench their outrage by buying her latest book.

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“In my book, Good Tidings and Great Joy, I talk about how our religious freedom is being eroded by angry atheists with attorneys,” Palin said. “Here’s another example.”

A Fox local affiliate in Kansas City reported the boy’s claims in January, but the school’s principal told Glenn Beck’s The Blaze website and the Christian Post that he found no evidence the incident occurred.

Palin admitted the principal pointed out that the Bible was not banned at the school and the teacher would have been violating school policy if the incident had, in fact, taken place.

“I’d add she or he acted against the Constitution, too, by telling the student to put away the Bible,” Palin said.

The former half-term governor of Alaska warned viewers that the unsubstantiated incident served as a reminder that Christians should know the truth about the separation of church and state.

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“Normal people don’t want to go through the hassle of litigation, right?” she said. “I’ve been through it how many times now, people suing me over stupid things? It’s not fun, so expensive – such a waste of resources.”

“But normal people, then, understanding that litigation is a hassle and don’t want to go through it,” Palin continued. “So angry atheists know that, so they use their inflamed rhetoric to coerce teachers and principals, they’re forcing them to take away the religious freedoms of their students.”

She concedes that “angry atheists” win some of the lawsuits they file.

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“But they frequently just intimidate and harass and annoy people into caving to their atrocious, ridiculous, nonsensical demands by spreading a false understanding of what the separation of church and state means,” Palin said.

She said school officials aren’t always clear on the law, so they “err on the side of caution.”

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“There’s a big problem with that, though,” Palin said. “When you err on the side of caution, you still err! The Supreme Court has been clear, though: Students do not lose their constitutional rights just because they walk though the school doors, thankfully. This is a lesson that one Missouri school needs to learn.”

Watch Palin’s comments in this video posted online by Dan Weber: