Transcript Freedom of Religion - Oconee County Schools

FREEDOM OF RELIGION
Heavenly Father,
We come before You today to ask Your Forgiveness and seek Your direction and
guidance. We know Your Word says, ''Woe to those who call evil good,'' but that's
exactly what we have done. We have lost our Spiritual equilibrium and inverted our
values. We confess that; we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and
called it pluralism; We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism;
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle; We have
exploited the poor and called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called
it self preservation; We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; We have
killed our unborn and called it choice; We have shot abortionists and called it
justifiable; We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building selfesteem; We have abused power and called it political savvy; We have coveted our
neighbor's possessions and called it ambition; We have polluted the air with
profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression; We have ridiculed
the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us,
O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in
us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and
women who have been sent here by the people of this state and who have been
ordained by You, to govern this great state of Kansas. Grant them your wisdom to
rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your Will.
I ask it in the name of your Son, The Living Savior, Jesus Christ
--Pastor Joe White (prayer before the opening of the Kansas Legislature in 1999)
Response/Quick Write
 What do you think of the prayer?
 How do you think people responded? How would
you have responded if you lived in Kansas?
 How do you think the SCOTUS responded?
Reality
 The response was immediate. A number of legislators
walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short
weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is
pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47
of those calls responding negatively. The church is now
receiving international requests for copies of this prayer
from India, Africa, and Korea.
 SCOTUS Response:
 Marsh v. Chambers (1983)
 opening legislative sessions in prayer is not a violation of the
establishment of religion
Activity
 Read through the “History of Freedom of Religion
and School Prayer” Worksheet and answer the
questions at the end
Freedom of Religion
 “Congress shall make no law respecting the
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof”
 Religion is very important to the Founding Fathers
(Article VI of the Constitution prohibits the gov’t
from requiring any religious test for public office)
 between 1791 and 1940, the Court heard only five
cases dealing with church-state relations, while it
has heard hundreds of them since then (half since
1980)
Freedom of Religion
 Establishment Clause
 “Congress shall make no law respecting the
establishment of religion . . . ”
 No state religion
 Prohibits gov’t from preferring one religion over another
 Free Exercise Clause
 “Congress shall make no law . . . prohibiting the free
exercise thereof”
 Protects the right of individuals to worship or believe as
they choose (gov’t cannot unduly burden religious
practice)
Religion in America
 Americans are very religious in relation to other
countries
 41% of American citizens report they regularly attend
religious services, compared to 15% of French citizens,
10% of UK citizens, and 7.5% of Australian citizens
 “In God We Trust” on the currency
 “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance
 State legislatures, Congress, and the SCOTUS all
open their sessions in prayer
 Countless Christian references and architectural
designs
Religion in America
 McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
 In 1816, Congress chartered the Second Bank of the
U.S. and Maryland decided to tax the bank b/c it was
located in their state
 SCOTUS: “the power to tax is the power to destroy”
 Set forth precedent that churches don’t have to pay
taxes
The Establishment Clause
 Everson v. Board of Education (1947)
 A New Jersey county provided subsidies to all parents for children
to ride city busses (some of this money went to children in
parochial schools). Some parents sued arguing this was a violation
of Establishment Clause
 made “wall of separation” of church and state a legal definition
 term “wall of separation” actually came from a letter from Thomas
Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Convention in 1903, prohibiting
government involvement in the church and government-established
religions
 SCOTUS: The law did not pay money to parochial schools, nor did
it support them directly in anyway. It was simply a law enacted as a
"general program" to assist parents of all religions with getting
their children to school, not an establishment of religion
The Establishment Clause
 Engel v. Vitale (1962)
 This prayer was said each morning at an elementary in
NY:
 “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon
Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our
teachers, and our country. Amen”
 SCOTUS: ruled this to be a violation of the
establishment clause
 banned school-sponsored prayer
 From a HS teacher of mine: As long as there are tests
in schools, there will be prayer in schools
The Establishment Clause
 Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
 A PA law allowed for the state to reimburse non-
public (parochial) schools for teachers who taught
secular subjects
 Lemon test
1.
2.
3.

the challenged law must have a secular purpose
the primary effect of the law or action must be to
neither advance nor inhibit religion
the operation of the law or action must not foster
excessive entanglement of gov’t with religion
If any of these prongs are violated, it is considered a
violation of the 1st Amendment, and the SCOTUS
saw this as a violation
The Establishment Clause
 Stone v. Graham (1980)
 Ten Commandments cannot be mandated to be
posted in school classrooms
 Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)
 endorsement test
 asks whether the challenged law or gov’t action has either
the purpose or the effect of endorsing religion in the eyes
of members of the community
 Court uses this test to see if the gov’t has sent a
message to nonbelievers that they are outsiders and
not full members of the political community
The Establishment Clause
 Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)
 Court found that the Alabama law establishing school
prayer and meditation statute was unconstitutional
b/c it constituted the establishment of religion
 Lee v. Weisman (1992)
 schools cannot have a religious leader or outside
person come in and pray at school functions
The Establishment Clause
 Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District (1993)
 A HS student who has been deaf since birth asked his
school to pay for a sign language interpreter to
accompany him to classes at a local religious school,
but the gov’t refuses to pay for fear of breaking the
establishment clause
 The SCOTUS said that the gov’t must provide this
service b/c gov’t programs are supposed to neutrally
provide benefits to a broad class of citizens no matter
if the religious school might receive a financial benefit
because of it
The Establishment Clause
 Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe (2000)
 A school policy allowed student-initiated, student-led
prayer at HS football games
 The SCOTUS ruled this to be a violation of the
Establishment Clause
The Establishment Clause
 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, GA in 2009
 Cheerleaders forced to stop painting Scripture on run-
throughs
Is this a violation of the
Establishment Clause?
The Establishment Clause
 Good News Club v. Milford (2001)
 Milford Central Schools had a policy that allowed
social and civic clubs to use school property during
non-school hours
 The Good News Club applied to the school to use
facilities to “sing songs, study Bible lessons, and
memorize Scripture”
 The school turned them down on the basis on the
Establishment Clause
 The SCOTUS ruled that if other groups are allowed to
use facilities, the school must allow a religious
affiliated group as well
The Establishment Clause
 Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)
 SCOTUS approved a program from Ohio that
provided vouchers to low-income parents to help pay
tuition at a variety of non-public schools, including
parochial schools
 However, programs that provide financial aid directly to a
religious institution or its instructors are less likely to be
approved (Lemon)
 Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004)
 Court decided that the words “under God” in the
Pledge of Allegiance are constitutional and reciting
the Pledge in school is not an establishment of
religion
Video Clip
 News Report: Bible Classes in Public Schools?
 http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/
watch?videoId=RleIxtOgMnE
Quick Write
 What do you think? Is teaching the Bible in public
schools a violation of the establishment clause or
just a free exercise of religion? Explain.
Video Clip
 Debate: The Establishment Clause (Muslim Prayer
in Schools?)
 http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/
watch?videoId=sKy2H0yR4g4
Discussion Questions
 Is allowing Muslim prayer in the middle of the
school day a violation of the establishment clause
or a free exercise of religion? Explain.
The Free Exercise Clause
 religious beliefs are almost always protected, but
not necessarily religious action
The Free Exercise Clause
 Reynolds v. U.S. (1878)
 SCOTUS upheld the conviction of a Mormon man
who had violated the criminal law against polygamy,
even though his religion at the time encouraged this
practice
 Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
 Court held that Amish belief that children shouldn’t
be schooled beyond the age of 16 was their right of
free exercise and the state couldn’t require them to
complete their last two years
 Balance test: free exercise of religion was more important
than the state’s interest in requiring school attendance
The Free Exercise Clause
 Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah
(1993)
 The Santeria religion was becoming more prominent
in Hialeah, FL
 City passed an ordinance that banned religious animal
sacrifice, a practice of the Santeria religion
 Court upheld religious practices, even animal
sacrifice, b/c the ordinance was passed solely to
interfere with religious practice
The Free Exercise Clause
 Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of
Oregon v. Smith (1990)
 two employees at a drug rehabilitation clinic were arrested for
ingesting peyote
 Even though this was part of their church practices, the
SCOTUS said the state could deny them unemployment
benefits
 Rosenberg v. University of Virginia (1995)
 An evangelical Christian group on the campus on UVA applied
for funding (like other student groups do) to publish a religious
publication; fearing this would be an establishment of religion,
the university turned them down
 funds cannot be denied to religious groups, causes, etc., if they
are provided to secular groups, causes, etc.
The Free Exercise Clause
 Capitol Sq. Review and Advisory Board v. Pinette
(1995)
 SCOTUS allowed a cross to be displayed on the lawn
of a state park across from the Ohio Statehouse placed
by the Ku Klux Klan
 Viewed it as a private expression of religion and thus
protected
REVIEW
 Which of the following could be part of the U.S.




Supreme Court’s dissenting opinion in the case of
Wisconsin v. Yoder?
A) Life in an Amish community is essential for
practicing this faith.
B) The Wisconsin law interferes with the free
exercise of religion for the Amish.
C) Education through age 16 is necessary for
students to achieve economic self-reliance.
D) It is the parents’ liberty to direct the
upbringing of their children.
REVIEW
 The establishment clause
 A) was considered to establish a “wall of
separation” according to Thomas Jefferson.
 B) deals with people’s right to practice their
beliefs.
 C) makes secular governments unconstitutional.
 D) invalidates the rule of freedom of religion.
REVIEW
 The courts have generally held school-sponsored
prayer during regular school hours to be
 A) allowed if done before classes begin.
 B) a violation of the First Amendment.
 C) allowed if a time for silent prayer is set aside.
 D) never allowed even if students just pray to
themselves.
REVIEW
 The free exercise clause is associated with
 A) religion.
 B) press.
 C) assembly.
 D) athletics.
REVIEW
 The Supreme Court uses a three-part test to decide
whether a law is a violation of the establishment
clause. Which of the following is part of the test?
 A) The operation of the law must foster excessive
entanglement of government with religion.
 B) The primary effect of the law must neither
advance nor prohibit religion.
 C) The law must have a religious purpose.
 D) The primary purpose of the law must be to
promote religion.
Determine whether
each of the
following
statements
describes an
Establishment
Clause issue or a
Free Exercise Clause
issue.
1.
2.
3.
A. Establishment
Clause
B. Free Exercise
Clause
4.
5.
Rabbi invocation and benediction at
school graduation A.
Amish refusal to send children to
school through age 16 B.
Mormon man’s claim to be able to
have more than one wife since
polygamy is a recognized part of his
religion B.
State program that provides
vouchers to low-income parents to
help pay tuition at a variety of
nonpublic schools including
religiously affiliated schools A.
Public school-sponsored prayer A.
REVIEW
1.
A. endorsement
test
2.
B. polygamy
C. school-
sponsored
prayer
D. establishment
3.
4.
clause
E. free exercise
clause
5.
protects the right of individuals to
worship as they choose E.
asks whether the law or government
action has the purpose or effect of
endorsing religion A.
violates the establishment clause C.
forbids government from setting up
churches D.
violates the free exercise clause B.
Video
 Watch the video “One Nation Under God?: School
Prayer and the First Amendment” and fill out the
“Varying Viewpoints” worksheet as they watch the
film.
Discussion
TOTD
 “Amending the Constitution” worksheet
 Is amending the Constitution the answer?