Dr. William Allan Kritsonis - Religion in the Schools, PPT.

1. RELIGION IN THE SCHOOLS
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

2. LEGAL FRAMEWORK
 The Fourteenth Amendment of the
Constitution contains:
 The Establishment Clause- “Congress shall make no
laws respecting an establishment of religion”
 The Free Exercise Clause- “or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof”
 The word “an” appears and the US Supreme Court has
construed this to mean that the government can not set
up a state church or aid any particular religion
 Thus, the separation of church and state

3. THE DEVELOPMENT OF DECISION
GUIDELINES IN THE 1970s
 Referred to as the Lemon Guidelines (Lemon v.
Kurtzman, 1971)
 Must pass all three to be constitutional
 The purpose of a challenged law or practice must be secular,
not sectarian
 The primary effect of the law or practice must be one that
neither advances nor inhibits religion and also does not
impair the practice of one’s religious beliefs
 The law or practice must not involve excessive entanglement
between state and church (this guideline is most often
related to state efforts to aid religiously affiliated private
schools)

4. TEXAS CONSTITUTION
 Provisions of the Texas Constitution reflect the desire to
separate church and state
 Authors of the 1845 state constitution included the compelled
purpose provision in Article I-6- “No man shall be compelled to
attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or maintain any
ministry against his consent.”
 Section 6 also states, “No preference shall ever be given by law
to any religious society or mode of worship.”
 Article I-7 states “No money shall be appropriated, or drawn from
the Treasury for the benefit of any sect, or religious society,
theological or religious seminary; nor shall property belonging to
the State be appropriated for any such purposes.”

5. FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION
 The second component assures that people are
free to exercise their religious beliefs without
government restraint or persecution
 Article I-6 of the Texas constitution states, “All
men have a natural and indefeasible right to
worship Almighty God according to the dictates
of their own consciences…
 There are limits on what courts will allow. If a
religious belief causes someone to take an
action that is against the law, they can be
prosecuted

6. CASE LAW
 Reynolds v. United States, 1878-
Mormons have the right to believe in
polygamy, but Congress has the right to
prohibit its practice
 Congress has no legislative power over
opinion, but has free reach over actions
that are in violation of social duties or
good order (ex: a religion that believes in
human sacrifices)

7. CONSTITUTIONAL DEFINITION
OF RELIGION
 Courts generally define  Belief systems such as
religion as deity-based, Wicca are granted the
and having general same protection under
recognition as a bona fide the Free Exercise Clause
religion as more main stream
 For purposes of the Free religions
Exercise Clause it can  A person can believe
extend to a belief system whatever they wish, but
that is philosophically cannot practice beliefs in
rather than theologically such a way that they
based disrupt the learning
environment or interfere
with the rights of others

8. The Public School’s Dilemma
 Concern 1: If they allow students and teachers to
express their religious views on campus, the school
would be promoting religion and violating the separation
of church and state
 Concern 2: If they deny them this opportunity, students
and teachers will argue that their free exercise rights are
being violated
 Concern 3: If school officials ask about the credibility of a
person’s religion before they grant an exemption based
on the free exercise clause or state law will arguably
violate the establishment clause because government is
deciding which religion is worthy of belief
 SPECIAL NOTE: Federal Law takes precedence over
state law

9. CONTEMPORARY
ISSUES
 The pledge of allegiance  Clergy in schools
 School Prayer  Distribution of religious
 The teaching of creation literature in schools
science  Wearing religious
 Promotion of secular symbols
humanism and pagan  Student religious groups
religion and the Equal Access Act
 Religion in classrooms,  Giving religious
choir programs, and exemptions to parents
holiday observances and students
 State assistance to
private religious schools

10. The Pledge of Allegiance
 Texas Education Code 25.082(b) requires students to
recite the pledge to the US and Texas flags in all public
schools each day
 Subsection (c) allows a student to be excused by written
request from a parent or guardian
 Subsection (d) requires a daily observance of one minute
of silence following the pledge during which students
may reflect, pray, meditate, or engage in any other silent
activity that does not distract other students
 Teachers and school personnel are charged with the
responsibility of making sure students are silent and not
distracting others

11. The Pledge of Allegiance-
Continued
 In 1954 Congress added “under God” after the
words “one nation” to the pledge
 TEC I.004 states that the motto “In God We
Trust” can be posted in each classroom,
auditorium, and cafeteria (enacted by the
legislature in 2003)
 Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow,
2004- Atheist father argued that the teacher
reciting the “under God” portion of the pledge
was a promotion of religion.

12. School Prayer
 School sponsored or employee led prayer
 Supreme Court decisions reflect that officially
prescribed school prayers with or without
student exemptions are illegal in public
schools (ex: denominationally neutral prayer
read on announcements)
 School employees may not lead, encourage,
promote, or participate in prayers with or
among students at school, during
extracurricular activities, or athletic events

13. School Prayer- Continued
 Silent Meditation- Silent meditation is allowed in
public schools
 Invocations, Benedictions, and Religious
Speeches at Graduation- These can occur if it is
the voted upon decision of the student body
majority and they are student led, nonsectarian
and non proselytizing. School leaders can have
no part in selecting the prayer or prayer leaders.

14. School Prayer- Continued
 Baccalaureate Ceremonies- Under the Lee v.
Weisman decision, baccalaureate ceremonies
that are pervasively religious, school sponsored,
and held on campus violate the establishment
clause and are unconstitutional
 To avoid this issue religious baccalaureate
ceremonies should be held off campus and without
school sponsorship
 Service can be held on campus if the school is not the
sponsor and the venue is rented to the sponsoring
group

15. School Prayer- Continued
 Student –Initiated Prayer at School,
Extracurricular Activities, and Athletic Events -
The Supreme Court has ruled that it is
unconstitutional to have a student led prayer
over the auditory system because improperly
coerces those present to participate in an act of
religious worship
 Students may choose to pray together privately
before events, but school personnel must not
have any involvement in the prayer

16. Teaching Creation Science
 Epperson v. Arkansas (1968)- Supreme Court
ruled the state law prohibiting the teaching of
evolution unconstitutional because it was seen a
an attempt to blot out a theory that conflicted with
the biblical account
 Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)- Supreme Court ruled
that a statute passed by the Louisiana Legislature
that required evolution and creation-science to be
taught equally was unconstitutional because it was
limited to only two views and was seen as an
attempt to structure science curriculum to conform
to a particular religious viewpoint

17. Secular Humanism and
Pagan Religion
 Some accuse the public schools of fostering and
anti-God or the religion of secular humanism
 The concept of secular humanism as a religion
under the establishment clause has not been
judicially accepted
 Many noteworthy court cases dealing with
curriculum, school books, and materials (Wright
v. Houston ISD, Smith v. Board of School
Commissioners of Mobile County)

18. Religion in Classrooms
 Teaching of religion requires a curriculum
that does not favor any particular religion.
 In the No Child Left Behind Act, that
pertain to religion in public schools:
“Students may express their beliefs about
religion in the form of homework, artwork,
and other written and oral assignments
free of discrimination based on the
religious content of their submissions.

19. Choir Programs
 Religious music in a school’s performing arts curriculum
first arose in 1995 when a Jewish choir student objected
to the singing of “May the Lord Bless You and Keep You”
and “Friends” at high school graduation (Bauch-man v.
West High School).
 The student lost the case because, she would have to
show that these decisions were intended to advance
religion contrary to the establishment clause. This she
did not do.
 Doe vs. Aldine I.S.D the court found the school song to
be essentially a Christian prayer, noted its pervasive
presence at school events and activities, and observed
that school officials frequently led its recitation or singing.
Texas federal court prohibited the song.

20. Holiday Observances
 (Lynch v. Donnelly, 1984), the high court allowed
a city’s inclusion of a Nativity scene as part of an
annual city Christmas display.
 Florey v. Sioux Falls School District (1980)
involved a school policy allowing teachers to
observe holidays that have both a religious and
secular basis. Among them were Christmas,
Easter, Passover, Hanukkah, St. Valentine’s
Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Halloween.

21. Clergy in the Schools
 Depending on school’s visitors policy, clergy can
meet with students on school grounds.
 Schools have the responsibility to prevent invited
clergy from trying to convert students on school
grounds, unless the school give the appearance
of endorsing religion.
 In 1996 there was a program called “Clergy in
the Schools.”
 Based on extensive review, the judge ruled that
the Clergy in the Schools program as
unconstitutional advancement of religion ( Oxford
v.Beaumont I.S.D. 2002).

22. Distribution of Religious Literature
 School personnel or outside organizations
cannot hand out Bibles or other religious
material to public school students on
school grounds.
 It is permissible to provide a place in a
public school where adherents of any faith
may deposit religious literature for
voluntary student pickup.

23. Wearing Religious Symbols
 Schools want to avoid having its staff give the
appearance of advancing religion and, in the case of
students, to avoid allowing religious symbolism to be a
style of dress for gang activity.
 Title VII of the 1964 Civil Right Act prevents
discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin. School districts must
accommodate reasonably a teacher’s wearing of
religious symbols and attire.
 For students, dress codes cannot be so restrictive that
they deny students their First Amendment rights to
engage in religiously motivated speech or free exercise
of religion.

24. Student Religious Groups and the
Equal Access Act
 In 1981 in Widmar v. Vincent, the U.S. Supreme
Court upheld the right of student groups to hold
religious services in buildings on a public
university campus.
 Congress followed up on the Widmar decision in
1984 by enacting the Equal Access Act, which
gives non-curriculum-related student groups
access to public secondary schools during non
instructional time to engage in religious, political,
philosophical, or other types of expression.
 These groups must be student-initiated,
voluntary, and student-led.

25. Student Religious Groups and
the Equal Access Act- continued
 The case “Westside Community Schools v.
Mergens” Involved a Christian club that wanted
to use the high school campus before and after
school for religious discussion and worship.
 The Equal Access Act does not limit the First
Amendment rights of individual students to come
together voluntarily during the school day for
religious expression of school grounds, including
prayer and the distribution of religious literature,
so long as it is done in a nondisruptive manner.

26. Religious Exemptions
 West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, a
1943 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, ruled that the school
board could not compel Jehovah’s Witnesses to solute
the flag. The students and their parents objected that in
their religion saluting the flag was a violation of a tenet
against worshiping a graven image (Exodus 20:4-5).
 Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) involved the religious
objections of the Old Order Amish to compulsory
schooling beyond the 8th grade. To date, no other
religion has been given as broad an exemption as the
Old Order Amish.

27. Religious Exemptions -
Continued
 In 1995 the First Circuit rejected parents’
assertion that requiring their children to attend
an AIDS awareness program intruded on the
free exercise of religion and the right of parents
to control their children's upbringing (Brown v.
Hot, Sexy and Safer Productions).
 TEC 21.406 provides that a school district may
not deny a teacher a salary bonus because a
teacher is absent from school for observance of
a religious holy day. The teacher still can be
required to supply a substitute or give up regular
wages for observing a religious holy day

28. Assistance to Sectarian
Private Schools
 About 11% of the total U.S. school enrollment
attends private schools.
 Most private schools are religiously affiliated
(over 30% of the total are now Roman Catholic).
 Efforts to aid the private sector run into the
establishment clause.
 U.S. supreme Court ruled in 1947 stated that the
government cannot deny public transportation
for pupils attending religious schools.
 Board of Education v. Allen in 1968 states that a
state could loan secular textbooks to religious
schools.

29. Assistance to Sectarian
Private Schools - continued
 In 1971, the Court struck down reimbursement to
nonpublic schools for teachers’ salaries, texts, and
instructional materials (Lemon v. Kurtzman).
 In 1973, the Court ruled against reimbursement for
maintenance and repair grants to nonpublic schools
(Committee for Public Education v. Nyquist).
 In 1993 the Supreme Court ruled that it is not a violation
of the establishment clause for a public school district to
pay the cost of a sigh language interpreter for a deaf
student who attends a private religious school.
 Article I, 7 of the Texas Constitution states that “No
money shall be appropriated, or drawn from the Treasury
for the benefit of any sect, or religious society.