This speech describes one superintendent's attempt to resolve a community disagreement concerning Christmas concerts held at Manhasset, New York, elementary schools the previous December. The newly appointed superintendent formed a nine-member, blue-ribbon task force, headed by a liberal Catholic, to study existing school district policies and…

Robert G. Ingersoll exerted considerable social impact on American culture, employing rhetorical persuasion to champion the free thought movement of the late 1880's. Primarily concerned with advocating the principle of individual freedom of thought and expression in religious life, he enraged his contemporary churchmen who were devoted to group…

Research shows that one of the most important prerequisites for student success is for teachers to understand and respect individuals from different cultures, and to understand the communities from which they come (Ilmer, Synder, Erbaugh & Kurtz, 1997). Thus, if we want students to succeed, what they bring into the science classroom in terms of…

Included in the many problems of current televangelism which are cause for concern are the constant appeals for donations. Under current circumstances, with tremendous sums of money needed to use television for religious purposes, televangelists resort to sensationalism for mass appeal rather than to spreading the gospel. This ethical problem…

The population of the Republic of the Philippines is largely composed of common racial stock except for a small minority of ethnic Chinese. Ethnic differences are largely on the basis of language and religion. Over 90 percent of the people are Christians, mostly Roman Catholics, approximately 5 percent are Muslims, and the remainder adhere to the…

This paper asserts that public demands for book censorship are but one aspect of a deep public dissatisfaction with the educational establishment, and develops the thesis that the cause of this dissatisfaction is the contrast in world views and religions of those in the educational establishment and the censors. The educational establishment…

This paper analyzes the superintendent's role in protecting the religious liberty of students in today's public schools. The dilemma for superintendents is to find a way to step back, objectively and evaluate the activism in the community, and then move to a bonding leadership style when working with diverse religious issues. The paper opens with…

The town of Rajneeshpuram, Oregon, was incorporated for the purpose of achieving the religious vision of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, just as the Mormons established communities around the teachings of Joseph Smith. The incorporation of Rajneeshpuram was challenged on the basis of the First Amendment, however, raising new questions in regard to the…

"Transformation" is a process whereby an existing, controlled (predominantly Protestant) or maintained (predominantly Catholic) school can "transform" to Grant Maintained Integrated or Controlled Integrated status (a school where Protestants and Catholics are educated together). Since 1996, this process has been promoted by the…

Traces history of European interaction with Islamic countries of Middle East from Crusades through World War I. Explains political expendiencies of war and resulting mandate system. Provides religious and political bases for Arab distrust of West. Concludes that no lasting peace is possible in area as long as Palestinian question is ignored. (DK)

Reuben Snake, a Winnebago elder, discusses the importance of living in harmony with creation; the significance of ceremonial life; the continuous struggle to maintain American Indian culture, values, and religious beliefs; and the importance of "reculturalization" through repatriation of sacred objects. (LP)

Recent controversies over textbooks illustrate objections held by Evangelicals to "secular humanism" in the schools. Educators automatically tend to assume that all religious objections to curricula are clear-cut attempts at censorship. This confrontational attitude on the part of educators can lead to alienation of minority religious…

The past 40 years have witnessed changes in the characteristics, training, and social setting of the school superintendent. A 1939 survey showed that superintendents tended to be male, white, married, Protestant, upwardly-mobile, Republican, and from non-urban backgrounds. Most held masters' or baccalaureate degrees. A 1974 survey of Wisconsin…

By tracing and connecting significant shifts in Baptist political and theological rhetoric to trends within the larger culture, this rhetorical transformation can be seen as establishing and maintaining these groups as significant forces in American culture. Before 1800, Baptists were against infant baptism, regarding baptism as a matter of…

On May 3-4, 2003, the Foreign Policy Research Institute held its tenth History Institute for Teachers. Forty-two teachers from fourteen states participated in a weekend of lectures and seminars, featuring seven outstanding scholars. Although Muslims define themselves and the Christian West in terms of religion, Western countries view relations…