Should religious schools be an option? Should they receive public funding? Are they bad for community cohesion? What should we make of the charge that they indoctrinate? How should they be regulated? People disagree on the answers to these questions. Some maintain that religious schools should not be permitted. If parents want to raise their…

The public schooling system is supposed to be neutral regarding religion. Constitutional provisions prohibit government from interfering with, or establishing, religion, and ensure equality of all people under the law. This article examines whether public schooling meets these requirements. It first briefly reviews the history of American…

Interreligious education has been a concern over the past few decades and continues to be a challenge. This article will review ways in which religious education has attempted to face the issue of education for increasingly multifaith societies. It identifies objectivity in religion as a major concern and will provide a perspective based on the…

Music with sacred texts is integral to the historical and modern development of the music education field, yet many who teach in public schools find themselves limited or banned from using sacred music. School divisions do not have a consensus opinion on how to handle this sensitive topic, and the law is not explicit. In this article, I provide an…

Examining schools through the theoretical lens of the New Institutionalism, this study uses semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to explore (1) how religious diversity is addressed by teachers in the public school system, and (2) the accommodations that are made for students of diverse faiths. Policies on religious accommodation receive tight…

School leadership is required to navigate difficult issues concerning the religious liberties of their students. December is a month filled with secular and religious holidays. It is the one month on the school calendar filled with joyous cultural celebrations. However, it can also become a quandary for leadership when attempting to balance the…

On September 9, 2009, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that officials from Everett School District #2 in Mill Creek, Washington did not violate student Kathryn Nurre's constitutional rights to free speech by denying the Jackson High School Wind Ensemble the opportunity to perform an instrumental version of Franz Biebl's "Ave…

This article reports on two Mideast-themed schools which have attracted fierce controversy amplified in the news media and the blogosphere. A new public school with a focus on Arabic language and culture is set to open in New York City this week, after being assailed for months by opponents who claim it will be a taxpayer-funded Islamic school…

Reasonable-sounding essays in the September 1999 "Kappan," advocating expansion of religion's influence in public education are fundamentally flawed by unstated assumptions and selective historical references. The wall of church/state separation is probably the best way to ensure religious freedom and protect both secular and religious…

This article reports on a lawsuit filed by Michael A. Newdow, a California atheist, on behalf of his daughter, against inclusion of the words "under God" in public schools' recitals of the United States Pledge of Allegiance. He said that the words "under God" represent "religious dogma" that is needlessly divisive.…

This article reports on the fiery California atheist who lost his bid at the U.S. Supreme Court to get "under God" stricken from the Pledge of Allegiance. Dr. Michael A. Newdow, an emergency-room physician with a law degree who represented himself before the Supreme Court in the high-profile case against the Elk Grove, California, school…

Unanswered questions'' regarding the Wisconsin vs. Yoder case: the extent of the ruling's application to other groups, and the rights of the children involved. (SP)

The California 3Rs project aims to prepare educators and community leaders to use First Amendment principles to address issues of religious liberty and religious/ethnic diversity and to help educators teach about religion and cultures in constitutionally and educationally sound ways. The project helped school officials and conservative Christians…

A Colorado school board member attempted to reach common ground on religious issues, following a board takeover by religious-right and back-to-basics candidates in 1993. First steps toward collaboration involved establishing personal relationships with clergy, suggesting a partnership, providing information, ensuring respect, and explaining legal…

This article describes the difficult times for faculty members and others who are committed to academic freedom. Among a number of examples, the author presents the bills introduced by state legislatures across the country that aim to restrict faculty activity in the name of protecting student freedom. Such legislative initiatives use the language…