This chapter summarizes a number of cases in which the Supreme Court has dealt with the separation of church and state question presented by the First Amendment. These include an Arkansas statute that excluded Darwinian theory from the high school science curriculum. The Court declared the statute unconstitutional because the exclusion was…

Traces the history of legal rulings leading up to the Edwards vs. Aguillard decision by the Supreme Court that it is unconstitutional to mandate "balanced treatment" and "equal time" for teaching creationism along with evolution in school science classes. Contains 17 references. (WRM)

State and Supreme Court litigation perpetuates the controversy over the role of creationism in the science classroom, and surveys reveal that many Americans continue to doubt the scientific validity of evolution theory and believe in equal classroom time for creationism. (MSE)

Pressure on the public schools is coming from conservative New Right religious-political groups. Their concerns focus on: (1) secular humanism--a Godless form of religion that the public schools are alleged to be teaching; (2) scientific evolution versus creationism--the balanced treatment statute; (3) Bible clubs and prayer in the classroom; and…

Reviews court cases in which parents challenged school practices on religious grounds. Puts particular emphasis on recent attempts to make the curriculum conform to religious views. (Author/JM)

The chapters in this book contain a comprehensive reference to recent state appellate and federal court decisions affecting the operation and governance of public elementary and secondary schools. The chapters are: (1) "The Use of School Facilities by Student Groups for Religious Activities," (2) "Denial of Standard Diploma to…