Religious Freedom

1
Religious Freedom

• 1st Amendment
• 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.

2
Religious Freedom

• 1st Amendment
• Establishment Clause
• Congress shall make no law respecting an
  establishment of religion
• Government can not set up a church, nor pass laws
  which aid one religion, aid all religions or
  prefer one religion over another.
• Free Exercise Clause
• or prohibiting the free exercise thereof

3
Religious Freedom

• Establishment Clause Early Interpretation
• Taxation to support religious schools?
• Transportation
• Child Benefit Doctrine Everson (1947) pg.
  184
• Funds expended for the benefit of child, not
  religious purposes
• Designed to get children to and from school
  regardless of religion
• Textbooks Allen (1968) pg. 187
• Applied child benefit doctrine
• Books not being used to teach religion
• Private religious schools also serve a secular
  purpose
• Opened floodgates of requests to support other
  programs in private religious schools that served
  a secular purpose

4
Religious Freedom

• Establishment Clause
• Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) - pg. 190
• (salary supplements for parochial school
  teachers)
• The Lemon Test
• Statute/Activity must have a secular purpose
• Primary effect must neither advance or inhibit
  religion
• Statute/Activity must not foster excessive
  government entanglements with religion
• Wide open to court interpretation

5
Religious Freedom

• Establishment Clause Interpretation after Lemon
• Tax benefits to parents of Parochial School
  Children?
• Mueller (1983) pg 196 Survives Lemon Test
• Supreme Court has reinterpreted Lemon to require
  coercion
• Supreme Court abandoned test in favor of
  neutrality standard in 1994
• Justice Scalia quote page 199

6
Religious Freedom

• Establishment Clause The Erosion of Lemon
• Dont panic! these cases were not part of your
  assigned reading!
• Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills (1993) pg. 202
• Providing services under the IDEA to student
  attending Catholic High School does not violate
  Establishment Clause
• Agostini v. Felton (1997) pg. 204
• Payment of Title I teachers in Parochial Schools
  does not violate establishment clause
• Mitchell v. Helms (2000) pg. 206
• Federal Funds to religiously affiliated schools
  for acquisition of instructional materials does
  not violate Establishment Clause
• Vouchers
• Zelman v. Simmons- Harris (2002) pg. 221
• Ohio voucher program does not violate
  Establishment Clause

7
The Role of Religion in Public Schools?

• Establishment Clause v. Free Exercise
• Release Time for Religious Instruction
• McCollum (1948) pg. 244
• Zorach (1952) pg. 246
• Bible Reading and Prayer
• Abington v. Schempp (1963) pg. 251
• Posting Ten Commandments
• Stone v. Graham (1981) pg. 253
• Silent Meditation
• Wallace v. Jaffree (1985) pg 255

8
The Role of Religion in Public Schools?

• Establishment Clause v. Free Exercise
• Prayer at graduation ceremonies
• Lee v. Weisman (1992) pg. 258
• Prayer at sporting events
• Santa Fe v. Doe (2000) pg. 261
• Course Content Evolution v. Creationism
  (not assigned reading)
• Everson v. Arkansas (1968)
• Edwards v. Aguilard (1987)
• Kitzmiller v. Dover (2005)

9
Equal Access

• Equal Access Act
• Secondary schools can not discriminate against,
  deny equal access to or fail to provide an
  opportunity to students who wish to conduct a
  meeting in a limited public forum on the basis
  of religious, political, philosophical or other
  content of the speech at such meetings.
• Limited Public Forum?
• Offer an opportunity for non-curriculum related
  student groups to meet on school premises during
  non instructional time.
• Good News Club v. Milford (2001)

10
Guiding Principles

• 1st Amendment
• requires public school officials to be neutral in
  their treatment of religion.
• forbids religious activities and speech sponsored
  by government, but protects activities and speech
  initiated by private individuals.
• http//www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschoo
  ls/prayer_guidance.html