The two religion clauses of the First Amendment of the Constitution clearly declared the objectives of the framers, toleration and separation, but the means whereby these objectives were to be achieved were left to be decided through the dynamic processes of the courts. The history of these two clauses reveals that Americans are still seeking to secure these objectives. For example, Americans are still wrestling with these objectives in the schools, where there is much conflict revolving around the issues of "separation" and "tolerance." There have been three well-known recent attempts to censor the public school curriculum: the creationist-evolutionist dispute; the secular humanism controversy; and the debate regarding using the schools to establish "traditional values" or to censor materials which do not maintain these "traditional values." These challenges are also an outgrowth of forces at work in the wider society and represent the evolution of society. Some issues of this connection are basically legal questions, such as the creationist controversy. Other issues are more philosophical, such as the humanist controversy. The question of values is a psychological and moral one. Each of these challenges, however, represents points of friction between often widely different views of the past, present, and future and is to be expected in a society that is both free and diverse. (MS)