Religion in Public School: Unification or Separation

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Religion in Public SchoolUnification or
Separation

• Position 1 For Religious Freedom in Schools

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The First Amendment

• Founding Fathers wanted to provide American
  citizens the right to practice the religion of
  their choice without fear.
• They did not want what had happened in England to
  happen in the new republic.
• Soin order to protect religious freedom the
  founders included Two clauses in the 1st
  Amendment.

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Establishment Clause

• Decrees that religions and the state should be
  kept separate so that no religion has more rights
  than any other.
• Congress shall make no law respecting an
  establishment of religion.

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Free Exercise Clause
Prevents the government from limiting Americans
from expressing religious beliefs in ways that
seem right to them.
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How we ended up where we are today

• Public schools offered immigrants an opportunity
  for social mobility
• Natural born citizens believed schools would
  Americanize these newcomers.
• To achieve from both ends, schools made
  reasonable accommodations.
• Prayers were offered as theistic rather than
  Christian language.
• Those who could not make these accommodations
  sent their children to schools that would allow
  practice such as Catholic schools.

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In the last 60 years

• Schools saw an expansion of agnostic, atheistic,
  and antireligious philosophies.
• These people believe that prayer in public
  schools pressure students into a religion without
  giving them the opportunity to fairly evaluate
  them.
• This small but effective minority has
  successfully won court rulings that have had
  negative effects on exercise of religion in
  schools and has resulted in a secular belief
  system.

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Establishment Clause

• Congress shall make no law respecting an
  establishment of religion.
• It has been interpreted as Congress shall make
  no law respecting the establishment of religion.

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Secularists

• Believe investigation rather than religious
  teachings is the source of answers to important
  human questions. (Council for Secular Humanism,
  2008)
• Even the Supreme Court has affirmed that secular
  humanism is a religious belief.

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Have we then.

• allowed Secularism to create schools that are
  hostile towards believers?
• allowed Secularism to force schools to change
  curriculum including the importance of religion
  on American history?
• allowed one belief to replace many beliefs?

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Consequences and Final Thoughts!
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Curricular Consequences

• Fear of controversy has led text publishers to
  neglect the study of religious influences on
  historical events
• Antagonism approaches exist in most subjects

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Teaching of the Origin of Life

• Creationism-the religious belief that humanity,
  life, the Earth, and the universe are the
  creation of a supernatural agency
• Intelligent Design- Is the assertion that
  "certain features of the universe and of living
  things are best explained by an intelligent
  cause, not an undirected process such as natural
  selection.
• Evolution- change in the inherited traits of a
  population of organisms through successive
  generations

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Thoughts about science

• For religious freedom
• If creationism isnt being taught then they want
  intelligent design taught in science classes
• Natural Selection cant explain irreducibly
  complex systems

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What did they do!!!!

• Cobb Count School District officials in Georgia
  attempted to place stickers on science books
  that said

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Consequences to the Refusal of Evolution
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Religion and Public SchoolsUnification or
Separation
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According to the Law

• The First Amendment
• Teachers and administrators are prohibited from
• Students have the right to
• Meeting on School Property

• Religious liberty in America means all are free
  to express their beliefs but may not impose them
  on others.

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Establishing Religion in Public Schools

• Groups like the National Council on Bible
  Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS) distribute
  course syllabi in school districts around the
  country, claiming they convey the content of the
  Bible as compared to literature and history.

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Religion and Sex Education

• The federal government has provided funding for
  sex education programs only to school districts
  that have abstinence only sex education.
• Sex education programs that go beyond abstinence
  only are more likely to offer students a chance
  to explore thoughtfully their own and their
  familys religious values.
• Abstinence-only sex education programs do not
  prevent young people from engaging in
  intercourse.
• Government support of these education programs
  constitutes an establishment of religion that
  violates the Constitution.

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Creationism/Intelligent Design

• Creationism and Intelligent Design are religious
  beliefs
• Evolution is supported by an abundant evidence
  from many different fields of scientific
  investigation
• An Earth Science and/or Bio course that doesnt
  teach evolution short changes the students

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What is a theory?
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Characteristics of Science

1. It is guided by natural law
2. It has to be explanatory by reference to natural
   law
3. It is testable against the empirical world
4. Its conclusions are tentative
5. It is falsifiable

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Whats the Big Deal?

• It hurts individuals by making full acceptance as
  a member of the school community dependent on
  sharing the majoritys religious beliefs.
• Under the protection of the Establishment Clause,
  religious belief or non-belief should be
  irrelevant in ones ability to participate fully
  in schooling.
• If you promote one religion, individuals and
  groups are assigned social status on the basis of
  how closely their beliefs adhere to the preferred
  religion.
• Peoples commitment to a religion may be
  dependent on the social setting, rather than on
  their own belief.