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Overview
Finding Common Ground - 2007 revision, by Charles C. Haynes and Oliver Thomas
Al-Hibri, Azizah Y., Elshtain, Jean Bethke, and Haynes, Charles C., Religion in American Public Life: Living with Our Deepest Differences. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2001
Hunter, James Davison, and Guinness, Os, eds., Articles of Faith, Articles of Peace: The Religious Liberty Clauses and the American Public Philosophy. Washington: Brookings Institution, 1990
Nord, Warren A., Religion and American Education: Re-thinking an American Dilemma. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995
Nord, Warren A., and Haynes, Charles C., Taking Religion Seriously Across the Curriculum. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1998
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Distributing religious literature
Child Evangelism Fellowship v. Stafford Township, 386 F 3d 514 (3rd
Cir. 2004) Child
Evangelism Fellowship of Md., Inc. v. Montgomery County Pub. Sch., 373
F.3d 589 (4th Cir. 2004)
Rusk
v. Crestview Local Sch. Dist., 3798 F.3d 418 (6th Cir.
2004)
Westfield High Sch. L.I.F.E. Club v. Westfield, 249 F.Supp.2d
98, 125 (D. Mass. 2003) Hills v.
Scottsdale Unified School Dist., 329 F.3d 1044 (9th Cir.
2003)
Peck
v. Upshur County Bd. of Ed., 155 F.3d 274 (4th Cir. 1998)
Muller
by Muller v. Jefferson Lighthouse School, 98 F.3d 1530 (7th Cir.
1996)
Johnston-Loehner v. O’Brien, 859 F.Supp. 575 (M.D. Fla.
1994)
Berger by Berger v. Rensselaer Central School Corp., 982
F.2d 1160 (7th Cir. 1993)
Hedges v. Wauconda Community Unit School
District, 9 F.3d 1295 (7th Cir. 1993)
Rivera
v. East Otero School Dist R-1, 721 F.Supp. 1189, 1194 (D. Colo.
1989)
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Graduation ceremonies
Supreme Court
Sante Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000)
Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
Other Doe v. Nelson 340 F.3d 605 (8th Cir. 2003) Adler v. Duval County School Bd., 112 F.3d 1475 (11th Cir. 2002) Skarin v. Woodbine Community School, 204 F.Supp.2d 1195 (2002)
Adler v. Duval County, 250 F.3d 1330 (11th Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 122 S. Ct. 664 (2001) Cole v. Oroville Union High School Dist., 228 F.3d 1092 (2000)
Doe v. Madison School Dist., 177 F.3d 789 (9th Cir. 1998
Bauchman v. West High School, 132 F.3d 542 (10th Cir. 1997) Tanford v. Brand, 104 F.3d 982 (7th Cir. 1997) Chaudhuri v. State of Tennessee, 130 F.3d 232 (6th Cir. 1997) ACLU v. Blackhorse Pike Regional Bd. of Directors, 84 F.3d 1471 (3rd Cir. 1996)
Guidry v. Broussard, 897 F.2d 181 (5th Cir. 1989)
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Evolution & creation
Supreme Court Edwards
v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987) Epperson
v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 (1968)
Other Freiler v. Tangipahoa Board of Education, 185 F.3d 337 (5th
Cir. 1999) Peloza v. Capistrano Unified School Dist., 37 F. 3rd 517
(9th Cir. 1994), cert. denied, 515 U.S. 1173 (1995) Webster v. New Lenox
School Dist. No. 122, 917 F.2d 1004 (7th Cir. 1990) Daniel v.
Waters, 515 F.2d 485 (6th Cir. 1975)
LeVake v. Independent School Dist. No. 656, 625 N.W.2d 502 (Minn. App. 2001), cert. denied, 122 S. Ct. 814 (2002)
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School
District, (No. 04CV2688)(M.D. Pa.)(3/10/05) McLean v. Arkansas Board
of Education, 529 F.Supp. 1255 (E.D. Ark. 1982) Scopes
v. State, 289 S.W. 363 (Tenn. 1927) Selman v. Cobb County School
District, (No. 1 02-CV-2325-CC)(N.D. Ga.)(1/13/05)
Beckwith, Francis. “Science and Religion Twenty Years after McLean v.
Arkansas: Evolution, Public Education, and the New Challenge of Intelligent
Design,” 26 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 456 (2003)
Greenawalt, Kent. “Establishing Religious Ideas: Evolution, Creationism, and
Intelligent Design.” 17 ND J.L. Ethics & Pub Pol’y 321 (2003).
Hanakahi, Wendy F. “Evolution-Creationism Debate: Evaluating the
Constitutionality of Teaching Intelligent Design in Public School Classrooms,”
25 Hawaii L. Rev. 9 (2002).
Haynes, Charles C. “‘Teaching the
controversy’ over evolution could be disastrous,” First Amendment Center
Online, 10/27/02.
Haynes, Charles C. “Darwin under
fire (again): intelligent design vs. evolution,” First Amendment Center
Online, 12/05/04.
Haynes, Charles C. “In evolution
debate, silent treatment won’t work,” First Amendment Center Online,
5/29/05.
Hudson, David L., Jr. “Science
teacher relates role in landmark evolution case,” First Amendment Center
Online, 5/23/05.
Jones, F. Arthur. “A Creative Solution?: Assessing the Constitutionality of a
New Creation/Evolution Disclaimer,” 49 Loy. L. Rev. 519 (2003).
Moseley, T. Mark. “Intelligent Design: A Unique Perspective to the Origins
Debate,” 15 Regent U.L Rev. 327 (2002).
Wallis, Claudia. “The Evolution Wars,” Time (8/15/05), p. 26-35.
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School prayer
Supreme Court Santa Fe
v. Doe, 120 S.Ct. 2266 (2000) Lee v.
Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992) Wallace
v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985) Tinker
v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1968) Engel v.
Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
Other Adler v. Duval, 250 F.3d 1330 (11th Cir., 2001) (cert denied,
2001)
Cole v. Oroville Union High School District, 228 F.3d 1092 (9th
Cir., 10-2-2000)
Bown v. Gwinnett County School. Dist., 112 F.3d 1464 (11th Cir. 1997)
A Parent's Guide to Religion in the Public
Schools
A Teacher's Guide to Religion in the Public
Schools
Public Schools & Religious Communities
Guidance
on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary
Schools, from the U.S. Department of Education (updated guidelines
originally issued by Clinton administration in 1999 with assistance from First
Amendment Center)
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Religious holidays
Tips for planning religious holidays in public schools
Before planning a religious holiday activity in a public school, ask the
following questions:
- Is this activity designed in any way to either promote or inhibit religion?
- How does this activity serve the academic goals of the course, or the
educational mission of the school?
- Will any student or parent be made to feel like an outsider, not a full
member of the community, by this activity?
- If in December: Do we plan activities to teach about religious holidays at
various times of the year or only in December?
- Are we prepared to teach about the religious meaning of this holiday in a
way that enriches students’ understanding of history and cultures?
Resources for classroom teachers
Elementary-school teachers may wish to use books of
children’s literature containing stories about the religious holidays and
traditions of the world’s faiths.
Calendars of religious and ethnic holidays can be obtained from the following
organizations:
National Conference for Community and
Justice 71 5th Ave. New York, NY 10003 212/206-0006
Educational Extension Systems P.O. Box 259 Clarks Summit, PA
18411 800/447-8561
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Student religious practices
C.H. v. Olivia, 226 F.3d 198 (2nd Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 533 U.S.
915 (2001)
Saxe v. State College Area School Dist., 240 F. 3d 200 (3rd Cir. 2001)
Mozert v. Hawkins County, 765 F2d 75 (6th Cir. 1985); later appellate decision at 827 F.2d 1058 (6th Cir. 1987) (cert. denied 484 U.S. 1066 (1988)
DeNooyer v. Livonia Public Schools, 799 F. Supp. 744 (E.D. Mich. 1992)
“Guidance
on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary
Schools,” by the U.S. Department of Education (issued Feb. 7, 2003)
Student
Religious Practices with Chart Detailing Specific Religious Practices
A Parent's Guide to Religion in the Public
Schools
A Teacher's Guide to Religion in the Public
Schools
Public Schools & Religious
Communities
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Released time
Supreme Court
Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963)
Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925)
Other
Doe v. Shenandoah County School Board, 737 F.Supp. 913 (W.D. Va. 1990)
Lanner v. Wimmer, 662 F.2d 1349 (10th Cir. 1981)
Smith v. Smith, 523 F.2d 121 (4th Cir. 1975). The Supreme Court refused to rehear this case: 423 U.S. 1073 (1976)
Perry v. School District No. 81, 344 P.2d 1036 (Wa. 1959)
State ex rel. Dearle v. Frazier, 173 P. 35 (Wa. 1918)
Arizona O.A.G. 86-078 (1986)
Iowa O.A.G. 292 (1965)
Haynes, Charles C., and Thomas, Oliver, Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools (First Amendment Center: Nashville 2001)
Conkle, Daniel O., “Symposium: Religion and the Public Schools After Lee v. Weisman: Lemon Lives,” 43 Case W. Res. 865 (1993)
Paulsen, Michael Stokes, “Symposium: Religion and the Public Schools After Lee v. Weisman: Lemon Is Dead,” 43 Case W. Res. 795 (1993)
Quddos, Samina, “Accommodating Religion in Public Schools: Must, May or Never?” 6 J. Islamic L. & Culture 67 (Spring/Summer 2001)
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Teaching about religion
Abington v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963) Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962) Teaching About Religion in National and State Social Studies Standards Curricular resource material in Finding Common Ground
Taking Religion Seriously Across the Curriculum
10 suggestions for teaching about religion
By Warren Nord, director, Program in Humanities and Human Values, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Religion is important; a central purpose of liberal education is to teach students about the place of religion in history and culture. The religious significance of curricular material (historical events and themes, literary texts, etc.) is an important criterion to use in selecting what is to be covered.
- Many events, movements, and texts are open to conflicting interpretations (both secular and religious). Teachers should be sensitive to religious ways of understanding them.
- The First Amendment requires that teachers be neutral regarding religion and religious ways of understanding the world; they are neither to promote nor denigrate religion.
- I would argue that the spirit of the First Amendment also requires that teachers be fair in their treatment of religion. Indeed, we are morally and intellectually obligated to be fair in dealing with any important, controversial matter. In an ideal world this means:
- Taking each of the (major) parties to the conflict seriously.
- Letting each party speak for itself through primary source material or guest speakers.
- Providing sufficient time and context so that positions are intelligible.
- Pursuing emotional as well as intellectual meaning (through literature, drama, art, film, etc.).
- Fairness does not require equal time.
- There should be no official conclusions. (This does not mean that a teacher should not share her own views.) Students should not be required to agree with the teacher in class or on tests. It is often best to ask not what students think, but what various religious groups think: Why do liberals believe that the Bible is not inerrant? Why do fundamentalists believe that abortion is wrong?
- That there are no official conclusions does not mean that there are no right answers. Neither fairness nor the First Amendment require us to embrace relativism. Education is an initiation of an ongoing discussion about the truth.
- Particular sensitivity must be shown to children who come from minority faiths, ethnic backgrounds, etc.
- Age is important; critical thinking and the ability to confront ambiguity and cultural conflict come with maturity.
- If matters are very controversial, parents should be informed and teachers should consider instituting an excusal policy.
- Some things may be too controversial.
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Pledge of Allegiance & religious liberty in public schools
Supreme Court Elk Grove Unified School Dist. v. Newdow (2004) Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000) Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992) Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985) Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668 (1984) Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963) Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962) West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (1940)
Other Myers v. Loudon County Public Schools, 418 F.3d 395 (4th Cir. 2005)
Newdow v. Congress, 383 F.Supp. 2d 1229 (E.D. Cal. 2005)
Circle School v. Pappert, 381 F.3d 172 (3rd Cir. 2004)
Newdow v. U.S. Congress, 292 F.3d 597 (9th Cir. 2002) and later rulings under Case No. 00-16423, D.C. No. CV-00-00495-MLS/PAN (9th Cir. Dec. 4, 2002, Feb. 28, 2003, and March 5, 2003)
Sherman v. Community Consolidated School District, 980 F.2d 437 (7th Cir. 1992)
Aronow v. United States, 432 F.2d 242 (9th Cir. 1970
Hamilton, Marci, “The Ongoing Fight for Religious Dominance: From the Secret Service Agent's Slur, to Critiques of the Ninth Circuit's Pledge of Allegiance Decision” (Aug. 1, 2002) Lazarus, Edward, “In Defense of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals: Though the Ninth Circuit Is Frequently Reversed by the Supreme Court, that Does Not Mean It Is Frequently ‘Wrong’” (July 11, 2002) Wolff, Tobias Barrington, “What the Recent Pledge of Allegiance Decision Really Means” (July 2, 2002)
Liberty magazine, November/December 2002, has multiple editorials exploring aspects of the Pledge controversy: “Under God Freedom,” by C. Welton Gaddy; “The Right Call,” by Barry W. Lynn; and “Is God an American Institution?” by John W. Whitehead.
History and text of the Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance statutes, state by state
(See also cases & resources for “Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.”)
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Religious clubs
Supreme Court
Good
News Club v. Milford Central School, 533 U.S. 98 (2001) Lamb's
Chapel v. Center Moriches School District, 508 U.S. 384 (1993)
Westside
Community Schools v. Mergens 496 U.S. 226 (1990)
Other
Good News Club v. School Dist. of Ladue, 28 F.3d 1501 (8th Cir.
1994)
Text of the Equal Access Act (20 U.S.C. Sections 4071-74)
Denial of Equal Access Prohibited Sec. 4071. (a) It shall
be unlawful for any public secondary school which receives Federal financial
assistance and which has a limited open forum to deny equal access or a fair
opportunity to, or discriminate against, any students who wish to conduct a
meeting within that limited open forum on the basis of the
religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such
meetings. (b) A public secondary school has a limited open forum whenever
such school grants an offering to or opportunity for one or more
noncurriculum-related student groups to meet on school premises during
noninstructional time. © Schools shall be deemed to offer a fair opportunity
to students who wish to conduct a meeting within its limited open forum if
such school uniformly provides that — (1) the meeting is voluntary and
student-initiated; (2) there is no sponsorship of the meeting by the school,
the government, or its agents or employees; (3) employees or agents of the
school or government are present at religious meetings only in a
nonparticipatory capacity; (4) the meeting does not materially and
substantially interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities
within the school; and (5) nonschool persons may not direct, conduct,
control, or regularly attend activities of student groups. (d) Nothing in
this subchapter shall be construed to authorize the United States or any State
or political subdivision thereof — (1) to influence the form or content of
any prayer or other religious activity; (2) to require any person to
participate in prayer or other religious activity; (3) to expend public funds
beyond the incidental cost of providing the space for student-initiated
meetings; (4) to compel any school agent or employee to attend a school
meeting if the content of the speech at the meeting is contrary to the
beliefs of the agent or employee; (5) to sanction meetings that are
otherwise unlawful; (6) to limit the rights of groups of students which are
not of a specified numerical size; or (7) to abridge the constitutional
rights of any person. (e) Notwithstanding the availability of any other
remedy under the Constitution or the laws of the United States, nothing in
this subchapter shall be construed to authorize the United States to deny or
withhold Federal financial assistance to any school. (f) Nothing in this
subchapter shall be construed to limit the authority of the school, its
agents or employees, to maintain order and discipline on school premises, to
protect the well-being of students and faculty, and to assure that attendance
of students at meetings is voluntary. Definitions Sec. 4072. As used in
this subchapter — (1) The term "secondary school" means a public school which
provides secondary education as determined by State law. (2) The term
"sponsorship" includes the act of promoting, leading, or participating in a
meeting. The assignment of a teacher, administrator, or other school employee
to a meeting for custodial purposes does not constitute sponsorship of the
meeting. (3) The term "meeting" includes those activities of student groups
which are permitted under a school's limited open forum and are not directly
related to the school curriculum. (4) The term "noninstructional time" means
time set aside by the school before actual classroom instruction begins or
after actual classroom instruction ends. Severability Sec. 4073. If
any provision of this subchapter or the application thereof to any person or
circumstances is judicially determined to be invalid, the provisions of the
remainder of the subchapter and the application to other persons or
circumstances shall not be affected thereby. Construction Sec.
4074. The provisions of this subchapter shall supersede all other provisions
of Federal law that are inconsistent with the provisions of this
subchapter.
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Public schools & religious communities
Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
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Teachers' religious liberties
Supreme Court Tinker
v. Des Moines Independent Community Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
Other Downing v. West Haven Board of Education, 162 F.Supp. 2d 19
(Dist. Conn. 2001) Marchi v. Board of Cooperative Educational Services of
Albany, 173 F.3d 469 (2nd Cir. 1999) Helland v. South Bend Community
School Corp., 93 F.3d 327 (7th Cir. 1996) Roberts v. Madigan, 921
F.2d 1047 (10th Cir. 1990) U.S. v. Board of Education, 911 F.2d 882
(3rd Cir. 1990)
Cooper v. Eugene School District, 723 P.2d 298 (Ore.
1986)
Breen v. Runkel, 614 F.Supp. 355 (W.D. Mich. 1985) Fink v.
Board of Education, 442 A.2d 837 (Pa. Cmmwlth. 1982)
A Teacher’s Guide to Religion in the Public Schools
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Bible in school
Supreme Court
Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226 (1990)
Abington School Dist. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963)
Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
Other
Gibson v. Lee County School Board, 1 F. Supp.2d 1426 (M.D. Fla. 1998)
Chandler v. James, 985 F. Supp. 1062 (M.D. Ala. 1997)
Herdahl v. Pontotoc County School District, 933 F. Supp. 582 (N.D. Miss. 1996)
Settle v. Dickson County School Bd., 53 F.3d 152 (6th Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 989 (1995)
Doe v. Human, 725 F. Supp. 1503 (W.D. Ark. 1989), aff’d without opinion, 923 F.2d 857 (8th Cir. 1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 922 (1991)
Crockett v. Sorenson, 568 F. Supp. 1422 (W.D. Va. 1983)
Hall v. Board of Commissioners of Conecuh County, 656 F.2d 999 (5th Cir. 1981)
Wiley v. Franklin, 468 F. Supp. 133 (E.D. Tenn. 1979), supp. op., 474 F. Supp. 525 (E.D. Tenn. 1979), supp. op., 497 F. Supp. 390 (E.D. Tenn. 1980)
Malnak v. Yogi, 592 F.2d 197 (3d Cir. 1979)
Vaughn v. Reed, 313 F. Supp. 431 (W.D. Va. 1970)
The Bible and Public Schools
“Religious Liberty, Public Education, and the Future of American Democracy,” a statement of principles sponsored by 24 religious and educational organizations
“Religion in the Public Schools: A Joint Statement of Current Law.” Copies available from American Jewish Congress, 15 E. 84th St., Suite 501, New York, NY 10028
“Religious Expression in Public Schools,” directive issued by the U.S. Department of Education (call 877/433-7827 for a copy)
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Last system update:
Thursday, August 21, 2008 | 17:56:22
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