Synthesis
Should religion and state be separated in school? This, as of right now, is a very heated topic in the media, with one side, saying that it teaches moral values and tradition and the other side, saying it restricts children's options to choose their religion in the future and it enforces certain rules and stereotypes that some newer parents don't agree with. In this essay, I will be describing and giving information about whether religion should be brought into the school system, or if it should be kept separate. This is a fully informational essay. I will not be giving my opinion, but it is up to you, as the reader to decide for yourself, how you feel.
First Source
Diving into the first Informational article, Religion in Public Schools, Explained, By Evie Blad — August 23, 2024. it states “under the constitution, public schools cannot promote or advance any particular religion..” (1, EducationWeek, Blad). This was originally put in place to respect the freedoms of all religions, now this raised some questions among parents and others, about whether prayer would even be allowed in school. Children/ Students are allowed to have freedom of speech within their school. Would this prohibit it? No, children are still allowed to do their own practices, such as prayer before lunch, or even freely speaking about their religion amongst other students. Students are even allowed to form prayer groups or religious clubs at school; the only restriction is, it is not allowed to interfere with actual school activities and the child's learning.
Due to the 1962 case of Engel v. Vitale, It no longer became mandatory for children to recite prayers in schools like it had been in the past years. Also in 1963, case Abington School District v. Schempp, this case involved a family that was Unitarian, and in Pennsylvania at that time, the schools required the children to recite Bible verses, and the holy trinity. The child of said family refused to do so, and to protest his beliefs against the school he left an open Quran (the muslim Bible) on his desk to be found by the school board members.
But, can teachers pray at school? Yes, they can, with certain restrictions, so teachers are allowed to pray in private, before they eat or before class or even during class, as long as it is done privately. Teachers, however, can not force prayer on students, or ask any religious requests from students, but, however a student can ask a teacher for a prayer, and it is up to the teacher to oblige or go along with the prayer. Teachers and students are allowed to pray together and openly talk about their religion, with some restrictions, religions of all kinds must be respected, any forms of discrimination or bullying due to religious reasons or beliefs, are not allowed! “Under the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, schools must protect students who are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, or of any other faith associated with a specific nationality or ethnic identity from bullying and harassment.” (8, EducationWeek, Blad).
Next Source
Moving onto the next text, The Separation of Church and State: Everson v. Board of Education, By Laura Temme, Esq. | Legally reviewed by Ally Marshall, Esq. in the 1940’s New Jersey, reimbursement went out for parents sending their child to school via bus and public and private school. Most private schools at this time were 96% Catholic. Arch Everson decided to file a lawsuit against the people who were doing the reimbursements calling it “ violated the First Amendment.” (1, Temme). In a 4 to 5 decision, the US Supreme Court made a ruling that the law was constitutional. Writing for the majority justice Hugo black stated “no tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion.” (2, Temme). In the court for Iverson versus the Board of Education, the Supreme Court introduced this new and influential idea of "wall of separation"(3, Temme). Which is a separation between the church and state. The Supreme Court explains that under the first amendment, the government cannot have one specific religion, nor can they have a favorite religion over another and lastly, they can't bash others for their religious beliefs.
Although Hugo Black wanted to bring light to the fact that the "Wall" between the church and the state should not be able to be broken down and should remain a strong barrier/law. The majority ruled that reimbursing parents for the bus transportation also including religious schools, did not violate the establishment clause, because this reimbursement was given to not only religious parents, but was available for all religious backgrounds to receive.
Four of the supreme court justices, mainly Justice Wiley Rutledge, argued that any tax money used in a way that benefits religious schools violates the constitution. While justice Robert Jackson claims that the program unfairly favors certain religious schools over others, which he personally agreed went against/contradicted the first amendment, right this case of, Everson versus the Board of Education, was one of the first steppingstones in later church versus state decisions, for example McCollum versus the Board of Education, which the court decided to strike down religious teachings in public schools, and One of the more it cases being, Espinoza versus Montana Department of Revenue, which the court upheld a program that allowed tax credit/public funds to support scholarships for children going to religious schools this created a social shift towards protection for religious schooling/college.
Points of Agreement
Now moving on to point of agreement, Throughout the articles, I noticed that most
people agreed on, "if we're going to teach or allow certain things for one religion then we should allow it for other religions" which most of the choices were mainly made to cater towards Christian/catholic beliefs, and were not made towards the betterment or inclusivity of other religions. Most points made were pointing out our First Amendment rights, with freedom of religion, and the main arguments being if schools are going to teach students about religion, then that should be equal across all religions.
Points of disagreement
Points of disagreement throughout this essay are that schools should not be involving themselves in religious matters amongst students. That schools should be focused on better matters and that enforcing any sort of religious policy would be in direct violation of the First Amendment right. Many parents and students are concerned for their First amendment right and that religious matters should be kept separate from school just like religious matters are separate for work.
In conclusion, some parents think that religious practices should be separated from school, but speaking freely among religions should be allowed in schools, which is freedom of speech. Most of these families that are worried, don't come from a religious background such as Christianity and don't want to feel that their religion is being treated any less than, another religion only for the fact of most schools that have implemented some form of religious practice are mostly Christian-based, and some families who don't practice religion at all. Don't want their children to feel pressured to choose a religion at an early age and especially through school, instead of their own life, decisions leading them toward religious life, but at the same time on the opposing side, many people think that religious practices could be good for teaching, basic human kindness, and how to follow rules and respect elders/authority but this is all up to interpretation.
Works cited
Logan, I really enjoyed reading your post. This topic is something that is very important, especially in a country that has always been described as a "melting pot" of people, cultures, and traditions. The separation of church and state is what makes everyone in the country be included. Choosing one religion for everyone to follow is a violation of rights. You did a good job of explaining your sources, and I liked the flow of the entire essay.
ReplyDeleteThis was really fun to read, and I also liked that you mentioned how reinforcing one specific religion in school would not be right for students of other faiths, as well as those who don't have a religion.
ReplyDelete