ERIC ED282306: Voluntary Religious Activities in Public pdf

ERIC ED282306: Voluntary Religious Activities in Public

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Description of the Book:

This booklet was written to help school officials understand the law concerning public forums and voluntary religious activities in public schools. Compliance dilemmas arising from the First Amendment establishment of religion clause and the accompanying free speech and free expression clauses, along with 14th Amendment equal protection provisions, are discussed in the introductory first chapter. The United States Supreme Court has often frowned on government actions appearing to advance religion in schools. Two opposing interpretations, “separation” and “accommodation,” are thoroughly discussed in the next two chapters. The “Lemon v. Kurtzman” case (1971), while avoiding definitions, offers a three-part establishment-clause test that looks at secular legislative purpose, primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion, and avoidance of excessive government entanglement in determining the constitutionality of state actions. Chapter 3 details a complex District Court decision (“Bender v. Williamsport”), overruled by the Third Circuit Court, that essentially accommodates students’ voluntary afterschool religious meetings as part of a school’s “limited public forum.” This decision was further strengthened by Congress’s passage of the Equal Access Act (1984) discussed in a later chapter.

Apparently, the free speech clause may protect students’ right to pursue voluntary religious activities in school, while the free exercise of religion clause denies this right! To help administrators sift through the confusion, the final chapter suggests policy guidelines defining the public forum status of school facilities. (MLH

• Creator/s: ERIC
• Date: 1987
• Year: 1987
• Book Topics/Themes: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Extracurricular Activities, Freedom of Speech, Higher Education, Legal Problems, Religious Discrimination, School Activities, School Buildings, State Church Separation

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