Religious Pluralism in Secular Classrooms

1
Religious Pluralism in Secular Classrooms
Chapter Nine
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
2
Rationale for Attending to Religion in Public
Schools

• Americans have always been concerned with the
  role of religion in matters of state
• Early colonists came to escape religious
  persecution later immigrants have brought a
  variety of religious beliefs, rituals, and habits
  of mind
• Much of the cultural capital of the United States
  has emerged from attempts to answer basically
  religious questions
• cont.

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
3

• Connections to religious ideas and symbols
  emerges, in part, from a universal human need for
  a spiritual dimension
• While religion in some societies permeates the
  whole culture, in the United States, the founders
  were concerned that religion be separated from
  the state in concrete ways cont.

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
4

• The Constitutional language of the First
  Amendment tries to guarantee that separation
• Congress shall make no law respecting an
  establishment of religion, establishment clause
  or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
  prohibition clause
• These two clauses have created a field on which
  battles of interpretation have been fought for
  225 years

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
5
Definitions of Religion

• Universal Definitions
• a system of beliefs and practices by means of
  which a group of people struggle withthe
  ultimate problems of human life (Yinger)
• a unified system of beliefs and practices
  relative to sacred thingsbeliefs and practices
  which unite into some single moral community
  (Durkheim)

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
6

• Sectarian Definitions
• Define and describe particular religious
  denominations in terms of
• Theological point of view
• Religious practices
• Religious experience
• Knowledge of scriptures and traditions
• Consequences for daily life
• Consequences for falling away from the faith

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
7
Changes in the United States Over Time

• The degree to which religious belief has been
  deemed necessary to public life has altered
• Technology, especially television, has enabled
  people to have knowledge of religion without
  actually attending services
• The increasing interdependence of the worlds
  social systems means that one religious system
  can have an enormous impact on other religious
  systems, and, indeed, on daily life around the
  world

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
8
Religious Pluralism in the United States

• Prior to Colonization a wide variety of
  religious beliefs and practices by native peoples
• The centrality of a Creator
• A reverence for the natural world
• A belief that human beings were obligated to
  preserve and protect the natural world

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
9

• Religion in the Colonial Era
• Christianity and Judaism
• Historically western and European
• A belief that human beings were destined to rule
  over the natural world
• Dominance of different religious sects in
  different parts of the colonies

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
10

• New England a Puritan Protestantism
• The Middle Colonies greater diversity, including
  Catholic, Quaker, and Anabaptist -- no particular
  denomination prevailed
• The South largely modeled on the Anglican Church
  of England
• Jews were also among the earliest immigrants, and
  were spread over the colonies

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
11

• 17th -19th Centuries
• African nativist religious ideas were brought to
  the colonies by captured slaves
• Combined with and enriched the primarily
  Protestant Christian traditions. After slavery
  was finally abolished, the African-American
  churches grew stronger, and had an immense
  influence on the cultural and educational lives
  of its members, which continues today

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
12

• 19th - 20th Centuries
• Introduction of Islam to the United States
• The Muslim faith is currently one of the fastest
  growing religious in the United States
• Membership is in part African American (e.g., the
  Nation of Islam)
• Members are also immigrants from Middle Eastern
  countries (e.g., Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria),
  from both north and sub-Saharan Africa, and from
  Malaysia

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
13
Characteristics of a Classroom That Attends to
Religious Pluralism

• Pedagogies Old and New
• Teachers should know the backgrounds of their
  students and their students families
• Teachers should know something about the
  worldview of particular religions represented in
  their classes
• Teachers should adapt instruction as required to
  give all students the chance to learn effectively
  and to practice learning in different ways

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
14

• Roles Old and New
• Because of potential conflict, teachers need to
  assume a role as interpreter and sometimes,
  mediator
• School rules and customs such as dress codes may
  have to be amended for those from different
  religious backgrounds
• The school calendar may also have to take a
  variety of religious holidays into account

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
15

• Place of Content Knowledge Old and New
• While schools have tried to cope with religious
  controversy by trying to avoid it, religious
  history, as well as religious architecture, art,
  music, and ideas can become the basis for an
  enriched and affirming classroom
• Remember that the Supreme Court has not, in any
  of its decisions on the subject, prohibited
  discussions about religion in schools

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
16
from the decision by Justice Clark

• it might well be said that ones education
  is not complete without a study of comparative
  religion or the history of religion and its
  relationship to the advancement of civilization.
  
• It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy
  of study for its literary and historic qualities.
  
• Nothing we have said here indicates that such
  study of the Bible or of religion, when presented
  objectively as part of a secular program of
  education, may not be effected consistent with
  the First Amendment.
• Abington v. Schempp (1963)

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
17

• Examples of Religious Content
• Dietary regulations in heath or home economics
  classes
• Islamic geometrical designs in math classes
• Major works of art depicting religious themes in
  art classes
• Religious music in music classes
• Studies of comparative religion in history or
  social studies classes

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
18

• Assessment Old and New
• Use sensitivity when creating exam questions on
  subjects related to religion (e.g., on evolution)
• Use sensitivity when deciding upon the use of
  psychological testing (some families believe
  these are a corruption of family values)
• Use sensitivity when deciding about the use of
  various health screening techniques, especially
  invasive ones

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
19
Perspectives on Religion and Schooling in the
United States

• Constitutional language in the First and
  Fourteenth Amendments has been both the source of
  religious freedom and the source of educational
  battles

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
20
Sources of tension include

• The need for schools, as an arm of the state, to
  support a basic freedom guaranteed by the
  Constitution
• The need for schools, also as an arm of the
  state, to uphold the separation of church and
  state

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
21
Two Broad Categories of Debate (R. Freeman Butts)

• Educations role in protecting private freedoms
• those that inhere in the individual, and
  therefore may not be invaded or denied by the
  state.

• Educations role in guaranteeing public freedoms
• those that inhere in the welfare of the
  democratic political community

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
22
Private Freedoms and Some Relevant Court Cases

Education has a role to play in protecting
private freedoms, or those that inhere in the
individual, and therefore may not be invaded or
denied by the state. Among these are compulsory
attendance and the individual practice of
religious beliefs in classrooms, including prayer.
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
23

• Compulsory Attendance
• Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) children
  must go to school, but private religious schools
  satisfy that requirement
• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) the so-called Amish
  exception Old Order Amish can disobey
  Wisconsins compulsory schooling law and withdraw
  their children after the eighth grade

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
24

• The Practice of Religious Beliefs in Classrooms
• Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) the right of parents to
  guide their childrens education is affirmed
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnett
  (1943) no one can be forced to salute the flag
  or say the Pledge of Allegiance if it violates
  individual conscience

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
25

• School Prayer
• Abington v. Schempp (1963) requiring student
  participation in sectarian prayers and reading
  from the Bible, particularly the New Testament,
  is unconstitutional
• Lee v. Weisman (1992) sectarian prayers at high
  school graduations are unconstitutional
• Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe
  (2000) sectarian prayers at high school football
  games are unconstitutional

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
26
Public Freedoms and Some Relevant Court Cases
Education also has a role to play in protecting
public freedoms, such as the need of the nation
for an educated citizenry and the need of the
society for the socialization of its children in
moral and ethical behavior. Issues raised here
include public funding for private religious
schools and the provision of religious
instruction.

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
27

• Public Funding for Religious Schools
• Cochran v. Louisiana Board of Education (1930)
  use of public funds to purchase textbooks for
  private schools is constitutional
• Everson v. Board of Education (1947) use of
  public funds to bus students to religious schools
  is constitutional
• The National Defense Education Act (1958) and the
  Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965)
  provided funds for some aspects of private
  religious schooling

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
28
Alternatives to Public Schooling, Often Based on
Religious Views

• Charter Schoolspublic schools funded by the
  state but run by local councils funding is taken
  away from public schools
• Home Schoolingparent-taught education, often
  using commercially prepared curricula and lessons
• Voucher Programsfunding (vouchers) attached to
  the child for use in private, often religious
  schools, as alternatives to the childs public
  school

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
29

• The Provision of Religious Instruction
• McCollum v. Board of Education (1948) religious
  instruction in public schools is unconstitutional
• Zorach v. Clausen (1952) religious instruction
  during school hours is constitutional if it takes
  place off school grounds

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
30
Other Important Court Decisions

• Epperson v. State of Arkansas (1968) statutes
  criminalizing the teaching of evolution are
  unconstitutional
• Lemon v. Kurzman (1971) Court outlines a
  three-pronged test for deciding whether any state
  statute violates the establishment clause of the
  First Amendment

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
31

• Lemons Three-Pronged Test
• Does the challenged practice or policy have a
  secular purpose?
• Does it have the effect of neither advancing nor
  inhibiting religious practices?
• Does the practice or policy avoid an excessive
  entanglement between government and religion?

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
32
Perspectives on Religious Identity

• Religious identity has its roots in the family
• It is perhaps the most common, and also perhaps
  the strongest source of identity
• Religious identity places an individual in a
  particular relationship with a deity

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
33
The Influence of the Religious Right

• While the so-called religious right is a
  contemporary conservative political movement of
  Protestant Christians, it is not the only
  conservative religious movement
• Fundamentalist movements are prevalent in all
  major religions around the world

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
34

• Particular educational interests of
  fundamentalist movements
• Prayer in schools
• Curriculum content
• Teaching of morality and character
• Funding for private and parochial schools
• Censorship of books available to or required of
  students

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
35
Ethical Issues

• Responsibility of teachers to be aware of and
  understand the religious background of their
  students
• Responsibility of teachers to know the law with
  respect to religious issues
• Responsibility of teachers to be sensitive to
  students religious beliefs with respect to
  curriculum content, religious dress, religious
  holidays, and methods of instruction

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e
36
Something to Think About

• The principle of separation of church and
  state has not prevented many people from
  believing that schools should be a repository of
  morality the question has always been, Whose
  morality are we talking about?

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All
rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford,
Human Diversity in Education, 5/e