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Freedom of religion in public schools
Freedom of religion in public schools
Freedom of religion in public schools
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“ Freedom of religion does not equal freedom to take away the rights of other people” (Unknown). The free expressions of religion is protected by the first amendment. Proposed September 25, 1789 the framers protected their citizens against the government controlling their religious freedom. School administrators and students are at a figurative war with the meaning of this amendment. School officials have attempted to ban the use of religious banners at sporting events made by the students; the Establishment and Free Exercise Clause interfere with the school administration's responsibilities and student rights causing the freedom of religion to be used in the wrong way. When creating the first amendment the framers wanted to refrain their new world free of religious control. They accomplished this by establishing the first amendment, which incorporates the Establishment and Free Exercise Clause. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion” (Cornell University). They may not create a national religion or favor any religion by promoting religion, or nonreligion. The government can contravene these laws in several manners. Actions that result in violating the Establishment Clause are constructing a state church, passing laws that aid one religion or certain religions, demanding people to attend or not attend church, taxing religious matters, cooperating or funding church activities or participation of religious organizations in government activities and/or punishing people for what they believe in (NPC). Some cases influenced the law to make a guideline to follow. The guideline they had established is called the Lemon Test. This test possess three questions to answe... ... middle of paper ... ...enta, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. . NPC. “Freedom of Religion and the Establishment Clause.” National Paralegal College. NPC, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. . “Sherbert Test Law & Legal Definition.” USLegal. Ed. USLegal Inc. USLegal Inc., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. . “Student Religious Expression in Public Schools: United States Department of Education Guidelines.” Freedom Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. . “A Teacher’s Guide to Religion in the Public Schools.” Freedom Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. .
The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. Meaning, Congress cannot forbid or ban the exercise or belief of any religion. However, the government can in fact interfere with religious practices. This means that the government cannot prohibit the beliefs of any religion, but can intervene in certain practices. The origins of the First Amendment date back to when the Constitution and Bill of Rights were first debated and written down.
The first Amendment of the United States Constitution says; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”[1] Our fore fathers felt that this statement was plain enough for all to understand, however quite often the United States government deems it necessary to make laws to better define those rights that are stated in the Constitution. Today the framers would be both encouraged and discouraged by our modern interpretation the First Amendment the United States Constitution.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (U.S. Constitution).
Samples, John. "Religion and Civil Rights." World & I. 01 Jan. 2004: 32. eLibrary. Web. 24 Aug. 2011.
First Amendment Rights of Public School Students How the judicial branch rules in cases relating to the 1st and how they relate that to all the rights of public school students. This includes anything from flag burning to not saluting the flag to practicing religion in school. The main point of this paper is to focus on the fact that schools have a greater ability to restrict speech than government. Research Question Does government or school districts have the ability to restrict free speech? This is a very important question because this gives great power to one over the other.
Separation of church and state is an issue in the forefront of people’s minds as some fight for their religious freedoms while others fight for their right to not be subjected to the religious beliefs of anybody else. Because public schools are government agencies they must operate under the same guidelines as any other government entity when it comes to religious expression and support, meaning they cannot endorse any specific religion nor can they encourage or require any religious practice. This issue becomes complicated when students exercise their right to free speech by expressing their religious beliefs in a school setting. An examination of First Amendment legal issues that arise when a student submits an essay and drawing of a religious
Flax, Bill. "The True Meaning of Separation of Church and State", July 9, Forbes, 2011 Web. 15 May 2015
The Amendment I of the Bill of Rights is often called “the freedom of speech.” It provides a multitude of freedoms: of religion, of speech, of the press, to peacefully assemble, to petition the government. Religious freedom is vitally important to this day because it eliminates the problem of religious conflicts. Historically, many people died for their beliefs because their government only allowed and permitted one religion. T...
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (First Amendment Center, 2008)
Hawley, Helen, and Gary Taylor. "Freedom of religion in America." Contemporary Review 282.1649 (2003): 344+. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
There are two parts to the freedom of religion that the First Amendment refers to: the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. The establishment clause forbids the government from declaring a specific religion for the state and supporting any laws that are biased regarding a religion. Every law or clause has standards and this specific clause has been challenged in court numerous times. This clause implicates a div...
Religion in Schools has proven to be a very controversial matter as of lately. Even though teaching about religion is allowed in public schools, there are still many questions that are being asked in order to provide a basis of what is appropriate for school, and what is inappropriate. The first amendment to the United States Constitution says that 'congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof' which implies that you have the choice of exercising your own religion, no matter what it may be. However, this poses an interesting argument within the public schools of America because we have such a diverse population with thousands of different religious groups. While many people do believe in a God and go to church religiously, many people do not do this-- and they find religion in schools to be offensive. Such things that are controversial in school include organized prayer, wearing religious garments like crosses or yarmulkes, differentiating between the acknowledgement of religious holidays and the celebration of religious holidays, and more recently, the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.
“Congress shall make no law representing an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...
University of Michigan. “Religion in Schools: A look at how religious practices influence education.” .
In 1962 the supreme court of the united states ruled that public schools and other agencies of the government were forbidden to interfere with the viewpoint of a student and their religion (“Prayer and” 2). the court valued school cooperation with religious authorities because it respects the religious nature of our people and accommodates the public to their spiritual needs (“Pros and” 1). althoug...