Religion and the schools

Why has religion always been such a hot topic?

What was the backdrop for the writers of the Constitution?

No definition of religion exists in the Constitution

• First amendment:• “Congress shall make no law

respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”

• Establishment clause• Free exercise clause

Separation of church and state

• Thomas Jefferson coined the term• 1879 Reynolds v. US that these

words “wall of separation of church and state” were used in Supreme Court

Establishment clause

• State cannot set up a church• State cannot pass laws that aid

one religion over another, aid all religions, or prefer one over the other

• No tax to support religious institutions

Cases- parochial schools

• 1947- Everson v. Board- use of funds for transportation

• 1968- Allen- loaning textbooks did not violate constitution

• These cases opened flood gates• 1971 Rhode Island and PA gave

direct aid to parochial schools

1971 Lemon v. Kurtzman

• Must have a secular purpose• Must have a principal effect of

neither advancing nor inhibiting religion

• Must not foster excessive entanglement or government with religion

Cases have decided:

• OR- Allen- textbooks• Everson- transportation• 1948- McCollum- students could not

have released time for religious instruction on campus

• 1952- Zorach- NY- could have released time off campus

• 1997- Agostini Title I services• 2002 Zelman v. Simmons vouchers for

failing schools

Prayer and Bible Reading

• Prior to 1962 when these were challenged in courts, defendants said they were not religious exercises

• Engle v. Vitale- no state promulgated prayer

• 1963 Abington v. Schempp and Murray v. Curlett- no reading or Lord’s prayer

States and their hosts of bills

• Violated establishment/free exercise clause

• Wallace v. Jaffree 1985- period of silence

• Is a daily period of silence an endorsement of religion?

Some crumbling of wall

• 1983- Minnesota- could deduct expenses from state taxes

• 1985- Equal access Act- access to non-curriculum related student groups

• 1990- Mergens decision- difference between government speech endorsing religion and private speech endorsing religions, which the Constitution protects

I'm Deborah Weisman. My involvement with the issue of church/state separation began in 1986 when my older sister, Merith, was graduating from junior high in Providence, Rhode Island. I'll never forget how uncomfortable I felt when a Baptist minister led us in a prayer at the ceremony. I had always felt that religion is important and has its place, but I didn't think a public school was that place. My parents sent the school a letter that was never answered.

Three years later, just before my own eighth grade graduation, my parents called the school to bring up the prayer issue again. A teacher told them, "We got you a rabbi." They thought we objected to the minister just because we're Jewish! But a rabbi wouldn't have made it any better: Prayer in public school was what we objected to. The school board told us that graduation prayer was a tradition. If we had a problem with the practice, they said, we could sue. And that's just what we did. The ACLU of Rhode Island assigned us a lawyer, who asked the federal court to order the school board to stop having graduation prayers. The court ruled in our favor, the school board appealed, we won again, and the school board appealed again-- this time to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court hears less than 5 percent of the cases brought before it, so we were surprised when the Justices agreed to hear our case.

Almost three years after my eighth grade graduation and nine days after my high school commencement (where there was no prayer), we won: When a public school sponsors a

prayer of any faith, the Supreme Court said, it violates the First Amendment.

Throughout the years of waiting for a ruling, we were harassed by hate mail and even death threats, and the media attention often bothered me. But I was encouraged by the support

we received from friends, and at no time did I regret having taken our case to court. What amazes me is that it only took me and my family to make a difference.

http://www.aclu.org/court/clients/dweis.html

Lee v. Weisman

Other cases

• Santa Fe v. Doe- banned prayer from football games

• 1990 Lamb’s Chapel-must let religious groups use facilities if they let other groups

• Lynch v. Donnelly- symbols in courtrooms but not in schools- however may bring them in if they are part of a religious study

• Can use music if not for religious observance

Guidelines for Educators

• 1. Policy decisions should include all stakeholders.

• 2. Public schools may not inculcate nor inhibit religion

• Schools should respect the right of students to engage in religious activity and discussion.

Guidelines

• 4. Students are free to pray alone or in groups as long as it is not disruptive nor infringe on the rights of others.

Guidelines

• 5. The Supreme Court did not rule against prayer in school but against state-sponsored or state-organized prayer in public places.

Guidelines

• 6. Lower courts are divided on whether a student may offer prayers at

Guidelines

• 7. The public school may not sponsor a baccalaureate service, but parents and faith groups are free to sponsor the services.

Guidelines

• 8. Study about religion may be held wherever it arises in courses. It must be academic and not devotional.

Guidelines

• Religious holidays offer opportunities to teach about religions.

Guidelines

• 10. When possible, accommodate the requests of parents for students to be excused for religious reasons.

Guidelines

• 11. Student clubs may have access like other clubs.

Guidelines

• 12. Students may wear religious garb and display religious messages if others messages are permitted.

Guidelines

• 13. Students may distribute literature subject to reasonable time, place, and manner.

Guidelines

• 14. Students may be released for off-campus religious instruction during the school day.