Seperation_of_Church_&_State

The United States was founded on the principal of the separation of church and state and is identified as the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Thomas Jefferson referred to this First Amendment as a “wall of separation” between the church and state (Wikipedia, 2010). James Madison, the primary drafter of the United States Bill of Rights, was also an early supporter of the separation of church and state and stated that "practical distinction between Religion and Civil Government is essential to the purity of both, and as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States." (ibid.) Different status and case laws may vary from state to state. However, the public educational institutions in this country are considered a governmental agency, and therefore are required to follow this policy. The case of McCollum v. Board of Education District 71 (333 U.S. 203) in 1948 resulted in the broad decision that religious instruction in public schools is a violation of the establishment clause and therefore is unconstitutional (www.infidels.org/library/modern/church-state/decisions.html). More recent cases involve specific determinations with regard to the educational practices being used throughout the public schools. The Supreme Court Everson decision in 1947 decided that “neither [a state nor the Federal government ] can pass laws that aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another” (McDaniel, 1979). These are rather general decisions that upheld the First Amendment, which has been now more specifically applied and ruled upon in recent years specific to educational institutions. In 1971 the Supreme Court ruled in Lemon v. Kurtzman that separation of church and state government action or legislation in education much clear a three-pronged test, including 1) not have a religious purpose, 2) not have the primary effect of either enforcing or inhibiting religion, and 3) not create “excessive entanglement” between church and state (McDaniel, 1979). In addition to providing legal guidelines for determining what can be considered constitutional and inconstitutional in legal caselaw, this can also provide public school educators with general guidelines for what is and is not appropriate in the classroom. Based on these guidelines as determined by the Supreme Court and the historic McCollum and Everson decisions referenced above, most teachers should be aware of the standard religious practices that are not allowed in public schools, including reading of the Bible, prayer, singing or reading of hymns, and display of religious doctrine such as the Ten Commandments and the Nativity. However, teachers are also generally awarded a certain amount of academic freedom in discussing some topics in the classroom. Therefore, public school teachers will need to ensure that any controversial topics that may relate to any sort of religious discussion are taught in the classroom without bias to either side, and that the topic of discussion is relevent to the curriculum. Although mot teachers are given a general freedom of discussion and teaching practices in the classroom, most school districts adopt specific policies, curriculum and general teaching methods. This limits the amount of discussion and teaching beyond what is legally authorized under the First Amendment. More recent decisions and controversy have arisen as a result of the teaching of evolution and creationism in the public schools. The decision of Epperson v. Arkansas (89 S. Ct. 266) in 1968 ruled that the state statute banning the teaching of evolution was unconsitutional because the state cannot alter any element in a course of study to promote religion (www.infidels.org….). In 1987, the Edwards v. Aquillard (107 S. Ct. 2573) resulted in the decision that it is unconstitutional for the state to require teaching of “creation science” in a curriculum in which evolution is taught due to the clear religious motivation (ibid). The above referenced caselaws illustrate the difficulties educators have in teaching controversial topics that may contradict certain religious beliefs. Evolution and creation science are recently the most contentious topics with regards to the teaching curriculum. These issues may arise associated with the religious community as a whole, or the student and teachers. As presented above, teachers need to use good judgement in discussing controversial topics such as evolution and creation science. This includes allowing the student(s) freedom of speech, while also maintaining an unbiased opinion in acting as the mediator in a controversial discussion to ensure the discussion and presentation of the curriculum cannot be determined to be of religious motivation and therefore unconstitutional. There are numerous additional Supreme Court decisions and caselaws that relate to the separation of church and state which directly impact curriculum and allowable teaching methods and content. Educators and teachers should be aware of the applicable decisions and caselaws that may relate to their specific topic of discussion, especially science and history teachers. As discussed above, good judgement, an unbiased presentation of the content, and ensurance that all discussions are directly related to the approved curriculum should limit any unconstitutional teachings that violate the First Amendment.