There is a great deal of ongoing debate surrounding the issue of religion in public schools. When you consider the rights of all Americans under the Constitution’s First Amendment, it is outrageous for the United States of America to have “freedom of religion”, and then place excessive limitations on students and teachers in public schools. There are a growing number of people opposed to the idea of religion being in school for a variety of reasons, from which the Government’s solution was to impose restrictions on all religions and deny others their rights in the defense of protecting the rights of a few. Teachers and students of all faiths should be able to attend a public school and freely express their beliefs without these limitations being imposed.
Currently in the United States of America there is a separation of church and state that exists when it comes to the appearance of religion in public schools. The Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise of” (Preiss, 1). The Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause both place restrictions on the government when it comes to laws they pass interfering with religion. There is no placement of restrictions on to the religions, except that there cannot be an established religion for the country. The first appearance of the term “separation of church and state” was in the letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists Association in 1802. Jefferson was writing to the association to comment on the “wall of separation of church and State” that is needed in the American government. Since then the term has been used and reused in different governmental related events to essentially le...
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...lerance.org by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 12 Dec. 2011.
• "The Secular War against Religion in Schools – Telegraph Blogs." Telegraph Blogs. 12 Dec. 2011.
• "Americans misunderstand role of religion in public schools, survey finds." Church & State 63.10 (2010): 18. 12 Dec. 2011.
• "FAITH IN SCHOOLS Poll: Most Americans OK with student religious speech." Houston Chronicle [Houston, TX] 22 Oct. 2010: 2. 12 Dec. 2011.
• Preiss, Byron, and David Osterlund. The Constitution of the United States of America. Toronto: Bantam, 1987. Print.
• Zirkel, P. A., and I. B. Gluckman. "Religion in the Schools." NASSP Bulletin 66.455 (1982): 143-46. Print.
• Otley, C. B. "Prayer in the Public Schools: Law and Attitude Change." Sociology 3.2 (1969): 277-79. Print.
• Prayer in Public Schools Pros & Cons. Washington, DC: Congressional Digest, 1995. Print
Mueller, Arnold C. "Religion in the Public Schools." In Church and State Under God, ed. Albert G. Huegli. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004.
* Longley, Robert. "Public Schools Don't Have a Prayer." U.S. Gov Info/Resources n.d. 15 Nov. 2001 .
Douglass, Susan L. The World in the Clasroonm. "Teaching About Religion." Educational Leadership Vol. 60 (2002): 32-36 . Web. 10 April 2014.
Through many Supreme Court cases, decisions, and official statements, the United States Government has made it clear that study about religion is constitutional (Haynes 2). 3 main cases have explicitly shown the acceptability of religion in school. There have been many statements made Supreme Court Justices and the current president himself stating the permissibility of having religion taught in school. Guidelines have also been written and carried out for the use of religion in the public school system (Guidelines: U.S. Department of Education, 2)
Many people argue that public schools are meant for educational purposes only, not for proselytizing. Schools are a part of the public where as religion is something personal and...
Kaminar, Wendy. “A Wing and a Prayer: Religion Goes Back to School.” The Nation Dec. 1997: 18-20.
This plainly states that public school teachers, principals, and boards are required to be religiously neutral. They may not promote a particular religion as being superior to any other, and may not promote religion in general as superior to a secular approach to life. They also may not promote secularism in general as superior to a religious approach to life, be antagonistic to religion in general or a particular religious belief, be antagonistic to secularism, and they must neither advance nor inhibit religion (Religion in Public).
In 2002 Jonathan Zimmerman wrote a book Whose America: Culture Wars in the Public School, which dissects how religion was taught in the classroom in the past, why it has not worked and thus why we should not allow prayer back into the classroom today. During the common and progressive school eras, the battle in America was whether or not to teach religion in schools, but by the 1940s the questions changed to which religion schools should teach. Therefore, Protestants, Catholics, Jews and Evangelicals
Public schools are no place for prayer. (2005, Sep 11). South Florida Sun - Sentinel, pp. 4.J-4J.
The United States of America has dynamically grown in diversity of religion, culture and ethnicity over time. Religion is a part of many lives; nevertheless, due to the wide variety of Christians, Jewish, Catholics, Muslims and many other religious groups, not to mention non-religious individuals, the country must accommodate citizens by remaining neutral and secular. Over the years citizens have sometimes forgotten the meaning of freedom, especially when it applies to religion without government intrusion. The United States of America represents free will to participate in a religion of ones choice or to not participate in religious activities. Individuals have the right to practice their religion without government intrusion. The religious sector has no right to intrude or impose one religion on non-religious or other religious individuals. However, the controversy has arisen in the education sector regarding religion especially surrounding public schools beginning as early as the 19th century; effecting children from their morning announcements all the way to the classroom settings. If religious groups wish to have their own private or home school, the option should be available. However, it should not conflict or deter funding from public school. These disputes concerning religion ought to be perceived from a different standpoint, putting the children first and implementing tolerance, respect and values in the classrooms. By leaving personal aspects like religion at home, children of different backgrounds can learn to coexist peacefully amongst one another in public schools. Nonetheless, to move forward as a united secular country the separation of church and state should be strictly observed in public schools and other govern...
Religion in Schools has proven to be a very controversial matter as of lately. Even though teaching about religion is allowed in public schools, there are still many questions that are being asked in order to provide a basis of what is appropriate for school, and what is inappropriate. The first amendment to the United States Constitution says that 'congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof' which implies that you have the choice of exercising your own religion, no matter what it may be. However, this poses an interesting argument within the public schools of America because we have such a diverse population with thousands of different religious groups. While many people do believe in a God and go to church religiously, many people do not do this-- and they find religion in schools to be offensive. Such things that are controversial in school include organized prayer, wearing religious garments like crosses or yarmulkes, differentiating between the acknowledgement of religious holidays and the celebration of religious holidays, and more recently, the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Students who did not oppose religion in school were no longer allowed to gather in fellowship and practice their beliefs together. The rulings did not eliminate prayer: they eliminated the
In Texas public schools, religion over the last several years has become a topic of discussion. When discussing faith and prayer in institutions, we need to consider the constitutional provisions, which intertwine within our federal and state statutes. These regulations and laws leave much room for lawsuits. In my opinion, the most salient concern about religion in schools is school prayers. Why? Because of the diversity of cultures and background within our educational institutions today.
Religion in the classroom is an extremely touchy subject with many pro’s and cons. Some people believe in it fully while others want their children to have nothing to do it with. But which belief is correct? Worship should not only be allowed back in the classroom but encouraged. In this paper I will review both the negative and positive effects of Religion in the classroom in this paper as well as why I believe it should be allowed back in.
The constitution is a set of laws set by the government to protect the nation’s rights. One of those rights is the First Amendment which discusses the prohibition of an established religion and allows the free exercise of religion. Thomas Jefferson had written a letter discussing the separation of church and state, which has resulted in many debates over the limitations of religion in the public schools (Hamburger). There is research that supports both the arguments that students can benefit academically from the influence of religion and from keeping religious teachings separate from public schools.