8/29/2005

Inside the Schoolhouse Gates: A Report on Religion in the Public Schools

Faced with the fears that have been triggered in us by such senseless acts of violence as the September 11 attacks, the Columbine tragedy and the more recent terrorist attacks in Madrid and London, Americans seem to have a renewed interest in spiritual matters. The evidence surrounds us. Television viewers have noticed a flurry of stories with religious themes. Mel Gibson’s release of The Passion of the Christ sparked a national debate and is reported to have grossed $125.2 million in its first five days—making it the third-highest North American five-day opening in history.

At the same time, another type of fear has been created for government officials by the increasingly common and widely publicized lawsuits involving a raging constitutional debate over the place of religion in public life. This fear—the fear of being sued—has prompted many public school officials across the country to implement restrictions that effectively banish expressions of religious faith from our public schools. Thus, while many adult Americans turn to their religious faith for comfort in the midst of mayhem or seek to understand the faiths of others, millions of American students are forced to spend much of their waking lives enclosed behind religiously sterile walls. If you question the seriousness of the problem, then consider the following examples, which are drawn from actual, recent cases:

• When a second-grade class was assigned to choose songs to lip sync in front of the class, one child was told that she could not lip sync to “My God is an Awesome God” because this would violate “the separation of church and state.”

• A kindergartner in New York was told she could not pray before snack time.

• In California, a high school student was suspended for passing out invitations to a church event outside his classroom, before the school day began.

• The parent of a kindergarten student was told that she would not be permitted to read from the book of Psalms as part of a “Me Week” program that was supposed to showcase the child’s favorite book.

Invariably, concerns about violating the so-called “separation of church and state” are cited as the justification for school officials’ actions in cases like these. But such cases are evidence of a disappointing reality about many Americans’ level of commitment to the fundamental freedoms that are the hallmark of our society. By driving the expression of individual students’ religious ideas from the schoolhouse, we teach our nation’s youth that our fear of violating the Constitution—or worse, our fear of allowing someone to feel uncomfortable—is greater than our commitment to the freedoms that it protects. We teach them that it is better to suppress freedom than to take a chance of giving too much of it.

In addition to the students’ interests in exercising their freedom, there is another interest at stake with respect to individual religious expression in the public schools: society’s interest in the promotion of truth through the full discourse of ideas. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes stated in his well-known dissent in Abrams v. United States:

[T]he ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas . . . the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which [society’s] wishes can be safely carried out.

The expression of ideas—even, perhaps especially, religious ones—is important to the development of society. As one commentator notes: “Encouraging cognitive conflict and expressive behavior in the school not only forces students to express their own judgments or opinions, but also serves the first amendment goals of self-fulfillment, enlightenment, and preparation of children for participation in a democratic society.”

These goals will undoubtedly be thwarted if we continue to suppress religious expression in public schools. It is no answer to say that students can learn these invaluable lessons elsewhere. Our children spend the overwhelming majority of their waking hours at school or school-related events. School is their society. To forbid their religious expression at school is to leave students little, if any, meaningful outlet for such expression.

Clearly, the only way to foster a school environment that is consistent with both the spirit and letter of the First Amendment is to encourage full student expression in the public school system, subject only, of course, to the school’s (and society’s) legitimate interest in maintaining order and safety. Unfortunately, even educators who recognize this often feel constrained by the threat of lawsuits.

There is, however, good news. In most situations, the perceived conflict between the so-called separation of church and state and students’ free speech and free exercise rights is a matter of misperception. In other words, educators and administrators need not be motivated by legal fears when making decisions regarding student religious expression. In the words of one federal judge, “Free speech, free exercise, and the ban on establishment are quite compatible when the government remains neutral and educates the public about the reasons.”

Read the full report: INSIDE THE SCHOOLHOUSE GATES: A REPORT ON RELIGION IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PDF)