The 1st Amendment, Religion, And School

Transcription

1 The 1st Amendment, Religion, And School

2 The 1st Amendment The Establishment Clause Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion -School officials may not formally organize or support any action that deals with religion or religious activity The Free Exercise Clause Congress shall make no law.. prohibiting the free exercise thereof -Therefore, the 1st Amendment does not prohibit purely private religious speech by students. -Students may read from their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, pray before/after tests as they would any other nondisruptive behavior

3 Where do we get the idea of Separation between church and state? From the establishment clause and the free exercise clause, Jefferson wrote, Believing that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their Legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion,or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State (Letter to the Danbury Baptists, 1802). How has the Court applied these clauses to school activities?

4 Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, and our teachers.

5 Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, and our teachers. -This prayer was adopted by the New York Board of Regents and was to open every day of school -Steven Engel sued the School Board President under the Establishment clause of the 1st Amendment Was the prayer created by the Board of Regents an example of the state establishing a religion? -The Supreme Court held the prayer to be unconstitutional -The Establishment Clause must at least mean that in this country it is no part of the official business of government to compose official prayers for any group of American people to recite as part of a religious program carried out by the government.

6 -Classes in Abington Township. Pennsylvania began every morning with 10 verses from the Bible and recital of the Lord s Prayer. -This was required by state law, although children who objected could be excused at their parent s request. -Edward Schempp sued stating that forcing his children to stand in the hallway gave the appearance of punishment for bad conduct. Was the requirement of the reading of the Biblical verses and the recital of the Lord s Prayer in violation of the 1st Amendment? -Does it matter that parent s could excuse their children from this activity? -The Supreme Court invalidated the reading of the Lord s Prayer along with selected Biblical readings - The place of religion in our society is an exalted one, achieved through a long tradition of reliance on the home,the church, and the individual heart and mind. In the relationship between man and religion, the State is firmly committed to a position of neutrality. -The Supreme Court would allow a study of comparative religion, the history of religion, or the study of the Bible for literary /historic qualities.

7 Lemon v Kurzman (1971) Facts of the Case This case was heard concurrently with two others, Early v. DiCenso (1971) and Robinson v. DiCenso (1971). The cases involved controversies over laws in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. In Pennsylvania, a statute provided financial support for teacher salaries, textbooks, and instructional materials for secular subjects to non-public schools. The Rhode Island statute Provided direct supplemental Salary payments to teachers in non public elementary schools. Each statute made aid available to "church-related educational institutions." Question Did the Rhode Island and Pennsylvania statutes violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause by making state financial aid available to "church-related educational institutions"? Decision Yes. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Burger articulated a threepart test for laws dealing with religious establishment. To be constitutional, a statute must: 1) have "a secular legislative purpose," 2) it must have principal effects which neither advance nor inhibit religion, and 3) it must not foster "an excessive government entanglement with religion. The Court found that the subsidization of parochial schools furthered a process of religious inculcation, and that the "continuing state surveillance" necessary to enforce the specific provisions of the laws would inevitably entangle the state in religious affairs. The Court also noted the presence of an unhealthy "divisive political potential" concerning legislation which appropriates support to religious schools.

8 -Alabama enacted 3 statutes concerning schools and prayer 1. Alabama authorized a 1 minute period of silence in all public schools for meditation. 2. In 1981, Alabama authorized a a period of silence for meditation or voluntary prayer. 3. In 1982, Alabama authorized teachers to lead willing students in a prescribed prayer to Almighty God the Creator and Supreme Judge of the World. -Ishmael Jaffree sued claiming the school district was taking part in religious indoctrination. -Was Alabama s 3 statutes in violation of the Establishment clause of the 1st Amendment? -Does it matter that the set aside time was deemed a period of silence? -Does it matter that only willing students could participate? -The Court concluded that the law had no secular purpose and thus unconstitutional. If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.

9 -Under Supreme Court decision, school officials may not mandate or organize prayer at graduation, nor organize religious baccalaureate ceremonies, nor organize or mandate prayer at any official school function. -Officials at Nathan Bishop Middle School has a Baptist minister open their graduation ceremony with a prayer, Thanking Jesus Christ for inspiring the students. 3 years later, a Jewish rabbi was to deliver an invocation at that graduation ceremony. -Daniel Weisman sued and asked the federal court to remove the rabbi from the program. They were denied and the rabbi gave her invocation -The Weismans sued to prohibit any further prayers from being given -Does the 1st Amendment allow non school officials to offer prayer at school functions? -Does the fact that a rotating panel of religious leaders were to be used make the proceeding more fair? -The Court invalidated prayer at the graduation ceremony. -The Court rejected the argument that this was a once a year ceremonial occasion and that the prayer should therefore be allowed. - The Constitution forbids the State to exact religious conformity from a student as the price of attending their own high school graduation. -Later, as a result of this case, Rep. Ernest Istook offered a constitutional amendment supporting school prayer. Although a majority voted in favor of the amendment, it fell short of the 2/3 majority needed.

10 FACTS OF THE CASE Prior to 1995 a student council member led a prayer before football games over the stadium intercom Student s parents filed suit claiming the acts were a violation of the establishment clause. The school held a vote of the student body that upheld the practice and said they wanted it to continue QUESTION PRESENTED Does a school have the right to have prayer if the students vote to have it? Does the establishment clause extend to out of school activities if the prayer is student led? COURT S DECISION Court ruled 6-3 that the Lee decsion should be expanded to included voluntary activities like football games Prayers delivered by students do not constitute private speech

11 The 1st Amendment & Instruction

12 -The state of Louisiana passed a piece of legislation called the Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution Science in Public School Instruction. -This act forbid the teaching of the theory of evolution in public schools unless accompanied by instruction in creation science. -If one is taught, then the other must be taught as well. -May the state of Louisiana force the teaching of creationism in connection with the teaching of evolution? -The Court ruled the requirement unconstitutional and in violation with the Establishment clause - The purpose of the Creationism Act was to restructure the science curriculum to conform with a particular religious viewpoint. Because the primary purpose of the Act is to advance a particular religious belief, the Act endorses religion in violation of the 1st Amendment.

13 -Kentucky passes a state law requiring that all public school classrooms post a copy of the 10 Commandments -Sydell Stone challenges the law and sues James Graham, the superintendent of public schools in Kentucky -May a school post the 10 Commandments in its classrooms? -In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that the Kentucky law violated the 1st part of the Lemon test and thus was invalid - The requirement that the 10 Commandments be posted had no secular purpose and was plainly religious in nature. -The Court noted that the Commandments did not confine themselves to secular matters but concerned matters such as the worship of God and keeping the Sabbath.

14 -The city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island annually erected a Christmas display located in the city s shopping district -The display included Santa s house, a Christmas tree, and a nativity scene. The creche had been included for 40 years -Daniel Donnelly objected to the display and took action against the city and Mayor Dennis Lynch -Did the inclusion of a nativity scene in a city s display violate the Establishment clause of the 1st Amendment? -In a 5-4 decision, the Court stated that notwithstanding the religious significance of the creche, the city did not violate the 1st Amendment. -The Court did not view the display, taken as a whole, to purposefully advocate a particular religious message. -The Court held that the symbols posed no danger of establishing a state church.

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16 -2 public sponsored displays in Pittsburgh, PA were challenged by the ACLU. -The 1st display: A Christian nativity scene inside the Allegheny Courthouse -The 2nd display: A large Jewish menorah, erected each year by a Jewish organization outside the City-County building. -ACLU claims that by being sponsored by city, displays are endorsements of religion and in violation of the 1st Amendment. -Are the displays in violation of the 1st Amendment? -In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled the display held inside the Courthouse was unmistakably endorsing Christianity and thus in violation of the 1st Amendment -The display had a banner, Glory to God for the birth of Jesus which sent a clear message of supporting Christian beliefs -The menorah display was constitutional given its particular physical setting (outside).

17 The Free Exercise Clause & The 1st Amendment

18 -2 Native Americans who worked as counselors for a private drug rehabilitation organization ingested peyote as part of a religious ceremony. -They were fired as a result and applied for unemployment compensation. The government denied benefits since they unemployment was due to work related misconduct. -Native Americans claimed that the Oregon state drug laws were in violation of the Free Exercise clause of the 1st Amendment -Does the state drug law violate the Free Exercise Clause of the 1st Amendment? -The Court has never held that an individual s religious beliefs excuse him from compliance with an otherwise valid law prohibiting conduct that government is free to regulate. -Allowing exceptions to every state law would open the prospect of constitutionally required exemptions from civic obligations of almost every kind. -Military service, taxes, child neglect laws

19 -The Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye is an Afro-Caribbean based religion of Santeria. Santeria uses a form of animal sacrifice as a form of worship -Shortly after the announcement of the establishment of a church in Hialeah, the city counsel adopted several ordinances addressing animal sacrifice. -The ordinance prohibited possession of animals for sacrifice or slaughter, with specific exemptions for statelicensed activities -Does Hialeah s ordinances violate the Free Exercise clause of the 1st Amendment? -The Court held the ordinances were neither neutral nor generally applicable and thus illegal. -The core failure of the ordinances were that they applied exclusively to the church. -The ordinances singled out the activities of the Santeria faith and suppressed more religious conduct that was necessary to achieve their ends.