For schools to work constructively with disenfranchised religious parents, administrators must listen to parents' concerns, and religious parents must accept the school as a pluralistic forum. Schools should welcome children with religious values, allow appropriate religious expression, provide staff training, educate for pluralism, and involve…

Christian Right's stepped-up involvement in school life has been catalyzed by pervasive belief that schools are failing and by media disregard of proschool counterarguments. Although Christian takeover of public education is not imminent, Religious Right is identifying problems that concern most Americans and bringing new players and perspectives…

Since public schools serve children of diverse religious backgrounds, an upstate New York district tried to construct a policy where all students felt comfortable. Proponents had an uphill struggle, since many constituents found nonreligious Christmas assemblies and displays acceptable. This article highlights Williamsville's Free Exercise and…

The presidency of George W. Bush has polarized the church-state debate as never before. The Far Right has been emboldened to use religion to govern, while the Far Left has redoubled its efforts to evict religion from public life entirely. Fewer people on the Right seem to respect the church-state separation, and fewer people on the Left seem to…

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…

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…

The Great Awakening (a period of intense religious revivalism between 1730 and 1745) is analyzed as a mechanism of social change." (Author/SE)

Since Christmas activities in many schools are in violation of the U.S. Constitution, guidelines are given for evaluating Christmas activities in public schools. (JD)

From 19th-century Protestant hegemony to today's religion-free zones, we have found no proper, constitutional role for religion and religious expression in public education. Both models are unjust and, in some cases, unconstitutional. A third model, composed of consensual guidelines, must be translated into local district policies and practices.…

Discusses implications of recent Supreme Court decision that exempts Amish children from State compulsory attendance laws for post-eighth grade education. (EA)

After defining three broad positions adopted in the long-standing French polemic about secularism and education, the author describes how traditional boundaries between conflicting positions have been blurred by interventionist policies in education as well as by the evolution of Catholic attitudes. He illustrates his comments from recent…

Participation in the Freedom Forum's California 3 R's project enabled The Ramona School District to find workable solutions to contentious religious issues without damaging the integrity of those involved. A sidebar outlines Ramona's board policy on student and staff rights and responsibilities, school calendars, religion in the curriculum,…

Threats to religious freedom can come from government restriction on religious practices. But the greater threat to religious liberty comes when religious groups influence governments to promote their own activities and beliefs. Powerful and well-funded religious groups, ranging from the religious right to the Roman Catholic church, are using…

This report addresses civil rights issues that derive from the First Amendment's guarantee of free exercise of religion and prohibition against the establishment of religion. The commission is acting under its legal mandate to study and collect information and to appraise the laws and policies of the federal government with respect to…

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…