Religious Expression

In Public Schools
By: Kaden, Nick, Naythan, Austin, and
Justin
Court Cases - Release Time

Zorach v. Clauson (1952) - This was a case in the supreme court that went on to
talk about off campus religious instruction. It was focused on what is now
considered to be release time. It stated that schools were allowed to give
students time to go to an off campus religious building to worship and learn as
long as the schools don’t encourage students to take the class allowing them to
go off campus or the schools don’t penalize students for not taking the class.
This is something that we see in effect today especially here in Utah. There is a
large portion of students that attend seminary which is now allowed because of
this court case.
Court Cases - School Sponsored Teaching

Engel v. Vitale (1962) - This court case was a very highly debated topic. It discussed whether or
not an official school prayer was allowed in schools. It ruled that it was unconstitutional for
schools to have an official prayer.
School District V. Schempp (1963) - This court case was on the subject of whether or not
school sponsored bible reading should be allowed in public schools. The ruling was that it was
unconstitutional for schools to have sponsored readings.
Wallace v. Jaffree (1985) - This court case was used to debate the topic on whether or not
silent prayer or meditation should be allowed in public schools. Schools were putting aside a
minute of time to allow silent prayer or meditation. It was considered unconstitutional because
students that chose not to do anything were subjected to discrimination because they chose
not do anything with the time they were given.
Court Cases - Teaching of Evolution

Epperson v. Arkansas (1968) - This court case was on the subject of teaching
human evolution in public schools. The court ruled that it was unconstitutional
for public schools to teach about human evolution based on teachings from a
certain religion.

Edwards v. Aguillard (1987) - This court case was very similar to Epperson v.
Arkansas as it discussed the idea of teaching creationism in public schools. It
determined that teaching creationism in public schools wasn’t constitutional as
it would be subjected to specific religious teachings.
Court Cases - Exemptions

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) - This court case was an exception for enforcing
education. There was a debate between the Amish community and the state.
They debated whether or not the state should be allowed to enforce kids to stay
in school until they finish high school. The Amish faith required that parents
teach their kids on their own after a certain age and they couldn’t do that
because kids were required to finish their education. They determined that the
first amendment of religious freedom outweighed the states enforcement of
keeping kids in school.
Court Cases - Religious Messages

Stone v. Graham (1980) - This court case involved the debate on whether or not
religious messages should be allowed to be displayed in public schools. In this
case the Ten Commandments were being given out to students in public schools
and were being used to teach the students about the specific religion and
influence them towards that religion. This case decided that religious symbols
can be used in public schools for teaching only with no bias and on a temporary
basis.
Court Cases - Use of Facilities

Lamb’s Chapel v. Center Moriches School District (1993) - The use of public
facilities was discussed and debated in this court case. The court case states
that public schools that allow their buildings to be used by community groups
aren’t allowed to discriminate against religious groups.

Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001) - This court case is similar to
the first one as it discusses allowing religion in limited public forum discussions
and whether the topic should be allowed to be discussed.
Court Cases - Student Led Prayer

Santa Fe Independent School District v. Jane Doe (2000) - In this court case it
debated specifically on whether or not student led prayer should be allowed at
school sponsored football games. The problem with this case is that student
initiated prayer is allowed under certain circumstances but in this case it
shouldn’t have been. This court case was to determine what was allowed and
what wasn’t going to be allowed.
 The first amendment.
From the Constitution of the United States of America the first amendment says this.
“ Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.” During the 19th century public schools were founded, no
student could make first amendment claims against any school officials. In fact
courts have permitted school officials to limit their rights in some circumstances.
I could only imagine the transition for some students would be difficult, from being
able to pray and express their religious beliefs completely freely to being trapped in a
cement prison without the ability to express your religion the way you’re used to. The
transition might seem easy to some but might seem difficult with others.
Personal experience with the situation

My mom works for an elementary school as a music teacher, she’s worked there
for over 6 years. When she found out I had this project based on Religious
expression in public schools, she was very excited to be able to express some of
her opinions. She said this. “ Just a couple of years ago there was a huge dispute
in my school district, there were many people saying that I shouldn’t teach the
kids our national anthem due to the fact that the song references God. I was able
to teach the song to the kids but the fact that there was so much confusion
around what I could teach and what I couldn’t frustrated me”.
 Why is religion not allowed in public schools?
The U.S. Supreme Court protects
students’ individual rights to pray, wear
religious symbols, and express their
religious beliefs at school. However it
prohibits it if it becomes disruptive or
discriminatory to other students or peers.

Religion is allowed in public schools but

there is an extent to what can be said and
done.
Religious Expressions Allowed In Schools

A religious expression that is allowed in schools is clothing. Even schools

with dress codes ordinarily make an exception for religious clothing.

For some Christians, they wear modest and respectful clothing for their
everyday dress.

Jewish men wear skullcaps. A Skullcap is a hat that is a small, close fitted
cap with no brim. Jewish women wear scarfs or hats to cover their heads.

Some Islamic women wear hijab or veils to protect their modesty. A hijab
is a head covering. Turbans are a man’s headdress. Turbans consist of a
long length of cotton or silk wound around the head.
Forms of Religious Expressions

The constitution forbids public school officials to direct or favor prayer in their
professional facilities. However, students and teachers do not give up their
constitutional rights when they come in the door. Nothing in the constitution
prohibits a public school student to pray before, during, or after school. Students
may also pray with other students if they choose.
Forms of religious expression

Students are allowed to share their faith and beliefs with others. This being said,
they must respect the rights of others. Teachers are allowed to teach about
religion, as long as it is in the context of public education. It is recommended
that they do not share their own beliefs.

“Students must be taught

how to think, not what to
think” - Margaret Mead
Forms of religious expression

There is a key difference between “religious instruction” and “religious activity” in

the classroom. Religious activity is acceptable in public schools. This means that
teachers are allowed to study the historical and literary aspects of books such as
the bible or the koran. They just aren’t allowed to discuss if the contents of the
book are true or not.
The equal access act

1990-Board of Education v. Mergens

This act was made to prevent discrimination against student made extra-curricular activities based on
religious, political, or philisophical ideas.

This act applies to any public schools that receive federal funding, and hold extra-curricular activities for
students.

There has been different outcomes when this act has been put into place.

1. Students sued their school for not allowing a club supporting gays and lesbians. The school
claimed that this club was going against their policy to teach “abstinence until marriage”. The
school lost this case and was forced to let the club continue.
2. In another case, the school decided to ban extra-curricular activities altogether, instead of allowing
a group called “Christian Athletes” to be formed.
Discussion Questions

● Should students be allowed to have more religious expression in public

schools?
● Should students be allowed to pray or do any kind of worshipping on school
grounds or should it be done outside of school property?
● Should teachers be allowed to talk and teach about religion more freely in
classrooms?
Work Cited

Religion in the public schools. (2020, August 14). Retrieved May 11, 2021, from
https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/03/religion-in-the-public-schools-2019-update
/
https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/about/faq/does-the-first-amendment-apply
-to-public-schools/#:~:text=The%20First%20Amendment%20applies%20to,of%20go
vernment%2C%20including%20public%20schools.&text=This%20meant%20that%20
when%20public,lasted%20into%20the%2020th%20century.
https://ncac.org/resource/the-first-amendment-in-schools-resource-guide-religious-
expression-in-the-public-schools
Kadens Mom MeriLynne Michaelis