religious liberty lesson 5

7/31/2019 Religious Liberty Lesson 5

1/24

1

The Supreme Court, the First Amendment, and Belief

The curriculum, Religious

Liberty: The AmericanExperiment, including a

series of teacherprofessional development

programs around thecountry, was made

possible by generousdonations from the George

Washington Institute forReligious Freedom.


2/24

2

Religious Liberty: The American Experiment

Lesson 5

Religious Liberty and theSupreme Court

Objectives:

Understand the facts of landmarkSupreme Court cases on the FirstAmendments protection against

established religion.

Assess the Supreme Courtsinterpretations of the FirstAmendment with respect toreligion in public schools.


3/24

Mission Statement

Established in 1999, the Institute is a 501(c)(3) notfor profit charity focused on providing educationalresources on America's Founding documents and

principles for teachers and students of AmericanHistory and Civics. Our mission is to educateyoung people about the words and ideas of theFounders, the liberties guaranteed in our Founding

documents, and how our Founding principlescontinue to affect and shape a free society.


4/24

Components of Professional Development

Enhance our own knowledge

Explore new teachingstrategies

Enrich the expertise ofother teachers

There is no knowledge that is not power.~Ralph Waldo Emerson


5/24

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts &Literacy in History/Social Studies

8. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning inseminal U.S. texts, including the applicationof constitutional principles and use of legal

reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Courtmajority opinions and dissents) and thepremises, purposes, and arguments inworks of public advocacy (e.g., TheFederalist, presidential addresses).


6/24

6

Important Definitions

Tolerance: refers to individualsrelationships and attitudes toward oneanother; capacity for or the practice ofrecognizing and respecting the beliefs or

practices of others.Toleration: government policy that permitsthe practice of certain religions; thepractice of religion is a privilege allowed

by government.Religious liberty: the idea that freedom ofconscience is an inalienable right not under

the legitimate control of government.


7/24

Lesson Five

Document Based Question

Jason is the valedictorian of a public high

school. Is he allowed to mention his faithin his valedictory address?

If he does so, has the school district

violated the First Amendment? 7

Background Essay tracesdevelopments through thecases shown in the followingslides.


8/24

Religious Liberty Landmark Cases

Establishment Clause Issues in thePublic Schools

Cases are presented here as a warm-upsee Lesson 5 in Religious

Liberty: The American Experimentfor

a Document-Based Question usingthis historical background.

8


9/24

A public school teacher may lead theclass in prayer at the beginning of class

time.

False: Engel v. Vitale(1962) New York Board of Regents suggestedprayer for the beginning of the school day violated the EstablishmentClause. Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee,and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and ourcountry. Amen. Students who objected could be excused during theprayer. The state school board did not require the use of this prayer,

but did compose and endorse it.

1. True

2. False

Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom


10/24

Teachers may teach about religionin public school.

True: School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, 1963It might well be said that ones education is not completewithout a study of comparative religion, or the history ofreligion and its relationship to the advancement ofcivilization. Study of the Bible or of religion, (must

be)presented objectively as part of a secular program of

education

1. True

2. False



11/24

Tax money may be used to help pay teacher

salaries in church-related schools.


False: In Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971, the Courtdeveloped the three-part Lemon Test for lawsdealing with religious establishment. Such a lawmust : 1. have a secular purpose, 2. haveprinciple effects that neither advance nor inhibitreligion, and 3.not foster an excessive

government entanglement with religion.

1. True

2. False

Alton Lemon


12/24

A public school teacher may post the Ten

Commandments in his or her classroom.

False: Stone v. Graham 1980. Unless such a poster ispart of a historical display with a secular purpose,for example, in comparative religion or literaturestudies, the display would violate the Establishment

Clause.


1. True

2. False


13/24

A state legislature may require publicschools to institute a moment of silence for

meditation or voluntary prayer.


1. True

2. False

Depends on the true purpose of the law. In Wallace v. Jaffree1985, it was clear that the Alabama legislature intended to

encourage school-sponsored prayer, so the Alabama statutewas unconstitutional.


14/24

Public school students have the right to

pray individually or in groups while atschool.

True: Board of Education of Westside Schools v. Mergens 1990

Students may discuss religious topics with their peers as longas they are not disruptive. The Establishment Clauseprohibits school endorsement of religious views, but it doesnot apply to purely private speech; the same rules of orderapply to voluntary religious speech as apply to anyother type of voluntary student speech.

1. True

2. False



15/24

Public school students may express their

religious beliefs in the form of reports,homework, and artwork.

True: (Mergens, 1990) Teachers must not reject or correct such submissionssimply because they include a religious symbol or address religious

themes. These assignments should be judged by ordinary academicstandards of substance, relevance, appearance and grammar. There is acrucial difference between government speech endorsing religion, whichthe Establishment Clause forbids, and private speech endorsing religion,which the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses protect.


1. True

2. False


16/24

Public school students may meet in a Bible

Study Club on school grounds after schoolhours.

True: (Board of Education v. Mergens, 1990) According to the

Equal Access Act, students must be allowed to participatein religious clubs on the same terms as any other non-curricular club. School officials may not actively participatein club activities and non-school persons may not control

or regularly attend club meetings.

1. True

2. False



17/24

A Rabbi may lead the audience in a non-

denominational prayer at public schoolgraduation.

False: Lee v. Weisman1992: The Establishment Clause wasinspired by the lesson that in the hands of government whatmight begin as a tolerant expression of religious views mayend in a policy to indoctrinate and coerce. Prayer exercises inelementary and secondary schools carry a particular risk ofindirect coercion. (Providence, RI)

1. True

2. False



18/24

Public school officials may plan

religious baccalaureate ceremonies.

False: Lee v. Weisman. School officials, when acting in theirofficial capacities, are representatives of the state and mayneither encourage nor impede student religious activity. TheEstablishment Clause means that the school must maintain aposition of official neutrality. If the school rents out itsfacilities to private groups, it must rent them on the same

terms to organizers of religious activities.


1. True

2. False


19/24

Public school teachers and administrators may

actively participate in the annual See You at thePole observance.

False: Peloza v. Capistrano Unified Sch. Dist. ; Lee vs. Weisman;

others.Such events are permissible for students, subject to ordinarytime, place, and manner policies set by the schools. However,school officials, acting in an official capacity, may neitherdiscourage nor encourage participation in such an event. Anyschool officials attendance at such events in a custodial

oversight role must be voluntary and non-participatory.


1. True

2. False


20/24

Students may lead the student body in

prayer on the P.A. system before publicschool football games.

False: In Santa Fe Independent School District v.Doe, 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that sucha practice indicates school support for

religious views, and is impermissible.

1. True

2. False


L d k S C C R li i F d


21/24

State funding may be used to purchasecomputer equipment for religious schools.

True: Mitchell v. Helms 2000 Supreme Court held that thegovernment could pay for computer equipment for public,private, and religious schools because the secular goal wasimproved education for students.


1. True

2. False

L d k S C t C R li i F d


22/24

A public school coach may encourage andparticipate in a student-led pre-game prayerwith his/her team.

False: Borden v. School District of the Township of EastBrunswick . However, teachers may engage in privatereligious activity in faculty areas. Supreme Court

denied Bordens request on March 2, 2009.


1. True

2. False


23/24

A public school student may post the

Ten Commandments in his or herlocker.

True: Various. If students are permitted topersonalize or decorate the inside of their lockers,schools must not discriminate against religious

messages.


1. True

2. False


24/24

Educating Young People about the Constitution

www BillofRightsInstitute org

We WantYOU

To use ourcurriculum

To let us know how

these resources work

in your classroom

To pilot or evaluate

our curriculum

religious liberty lesson 5

Documents