Should Religion Be Allowed In Public Schools

The First Amendment and the Classroom: Religious Education in the Public School System Religion in the classroom is an extremely touchy subject with many pro’s and cons. Some people believe in it fully while others want their children to have nothing to do it with. But which belief is correct? Worship should not only be allowed back in the classroom but encouraged. In this paper I will review both the negative and positive effects of Religion in the classroom in this paper as well as why I believe it should be allowed back in. Why was Religion taken out of Public Schools?

On June 25, 1962, the United States Supreme Court ruled that in the case of Engel v. Vitale, a prayer accepted by the New York Board of Regents for use in school violated

The court’s decision was delivered by Justice Hugo Black and stated, “We think that by using its public school system to encourage recitation of the Regents' prayer, the State of New York has adopted a practice wholly inconsistent with the Establishment Clause.”(Engel v. Vitale, http://laws.findlaw.com/us/370/421.html) This decision changed the outlook of how American society practiced religion in the public school system; however it did not outlaw religion from the school, only government-sponsored worship. In 1963, another court case, Abington school district v. Schempp, made it clear that the reading of the bible and recitation of the Lord’s Prayer were not allowed in public schools. In 1971, the Supreme Court established the “Lemon test”. This test states that in order to be constitutional under the

In 1962 when the Supreme Court made their ruling on Engel v. Vitale, they weren’t necessarily saying that religion wasn’t allowed in school. What they were saying is that the Government or teachers for that matter cannot enforce or influence any religion in school or on any citizen or pupil. In 1995, President Clinton said this about religion in the classroom: “Nothing in the First Amendment converts our public schools into religion-free zones, or requires all religious expression to be left behind at the schoolhouse door. While the government may not use schools to coerce the consciences of our students, or to convey official endorsement of religion, the public schools also may not discriminate against private religious expression during the school day”(First Amendment Center,