Download or read book Voluntary Religious Activities in Public Schools written by Jan C. Robbins and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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)

Download or read book Does God Belong in Public Schools written by Kent Greenawalt and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-01-10 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Controversial Supreme Court decisions have barred organized school prayer, but neither the Court nor public policy exclude religion from schools altogether. In this book, one of America's leading constitutional scholars asks what role religion ought to play in public schools. Kent Greenawalt explores many of the most divisive issues in educational debate, including teaching about the origins of life, sex education, and when--or whether--students can opt out of school activities for religious reasons. Using these and other case studies, Greenawalt considers how to balance the country's constitutional commitment to personal freedoms and to the separation of church and state with the vital role that religion has always played in American society. Do we risk distorting students' understanding of America's past and present by ignoring religion in public-school curricula? When does teaching about religion cross the line into the promotion of religion? Tracing the historical development of religion within public schools and considering every major Supreme Court case, Greenawalt concludes that the bans on school prayer and the teaching of creationism are justified, and that the court should more closely examine such activities as the singing of religious songs and student papers on religious topics. He also argues that students ought to be taught more about religion--both its contributions and shortcomings--especially in courses in history. To do otherwise, he writes, is to present a seriously distorted picture of society and indirectly to be other than neutral in presenting secularism and religion. Written with exemplary clarity and even-handedness, this is a major book about some of the most pressing and contentious issues in educational policy and constitutional law today.

Download or read book Faith Ed written by Linda K. Wertheimer and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2015-08-18 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An intimate cross-country look at the new debate over religion in the public schools A suburban Boston school unwittingly started a firestorm of controversy over a sixth-grade field trip. The class was visiting a mosque to learn about world religions when a handful of boys, unnoticed by their teachers, joined the line of worshippers and acted out the motions of the Muslim call to prayer. A video of the prayer went viral with the title “Wellesley, Massachusetts Public School Students Learn to Pray to Allah.” Charges flew that the school exposed the children to Muslims who intended to convert American schoolchildren. Wellesley school officials defended the course, but also acknowledged the delicate dance teachers must perform when dealing with religion in the classroom. Courts long ago banned public school teachers from preaching of any kind. But the question remains: How much should schools teach about the world’s religions? Answering that question in recent decades has pitted schools against their communities. Veteran education journalist Linda K. Wertheimer spent months with that class, and traveled to other communities around the nation, listening to voices on all sides of the controversy, including those of clergy, teachers, children, and parents who are Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Sikh, or atheist. In Lumberton, Texas, nearly a hundred people filled a school-board meeting to protest a teacher’s dress-up exercise that allowed freshman girls to try on a burka as part of a lesson on Islam. In Wichita, Kansas, a Messianic Jewish family’s opposition to a bulletin-board display about Islam in an elementary school led to such upheaval that the school had to hire extra security. Across the country, parents have requested that their children be excused from lessons on Hinduism and Judaism out of fear they will shy away from their own faiths. But in Modesto, a city in the heart of California’s Bible Belt, teachers have avoided problems since 2000, when the school system began requiring all high school freshmen to take a world religions course. Students receive comprehensive lessons on the three major world religions, as well as on Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and often Shintoism, Taoism, and Confucianism. One Pentecostal Christian girl, terrified by “idols,” including a six-inch gold Buddha, learned to be comfortable with other students’ beliefs. Wertheimer’s fascinating investigation, which includes a return to her rural Ohio school, which once ran weekly Christian Bible classes, reveals a public education system struggling to find the right path forward and offers a promising roadmap for raising a new generation of religiously literate Americans.

Download or read book Earthen Vessels Why Our Bodies Matter to Our Faith written by and published by Bethany House. This book was released on with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Voluntary School Prayer Constitutional Amendment written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on the Constitution and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 788 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Proposed Constitutional Amendment to Permit Voluntary Prayer written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 518 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Religious Speech Protection Act written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education and Labor. Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Wealth of Religions written by Robert J Barro and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How religious beliefs and practices can influence the wealth of nations Which countries grow faster economically—those with strong beliefs in heaven and hell or those with weak beliefs in them? Does religious participation matter? Why do some countries experience secularization while others are religiously vibrant? In The Wealth of Religions, Rachel McCleary and Robert Barro draw on their long record of pioneering research to examine these and many other aspects of the economics of religion. Places with firm beliefs in heaven and hell measured relative to the time spent in religious activities tend to be more productive and experience faster growth. Going further, there are two directions of causation: religiosity influences economic performance and economic development affects religiosity. Dimensions of economic development—such as urbanization, education, health, and fertility—matter too, interacting differently with religiosity. State regulation and subsidization of religion also play a role. The Wealth of Religions addresses the effects of religious beliefs on character traits such as work ethic, thrift, and honesty; the Protestant Reformation and its long-term effects on education and religious competition; Communism’s suppression of and competition with religion; the effects of Islamic laws and regulations on the functioning of markets and, hence, on the long-term development of Muslim countries; why some countries have state religions; analogies between religious groups and terrorist organizations; the violent origins of the Dalai Lama’s brand of Tibetan Buddhism; and the use by the Catholic Church of saint-making as a way to compete against the rise of Protestant Evangelicals. Timely and incisive, The Wealth of Religions provides fresh insights into the vital interplay between religion, markets, and economic development.

Download or read book The Establishment Clause written by Leonard W. Levy and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2017-03-01 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leonard Levy's classic work examines the circumstances that led to the writing of the establishment clause of the First Amendment: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. . . .' He argues that, contrary to popular belief, the framers of the Constitution intended to prohibit government aid to religion even on an impartial basis. He thus refutes the view of 'nonpreferentialists,' who interpret the clause as allowing such aid provided that the assistance is not restricted to a preferred church. For this new edition, Levy has added to his original arguments and incorporated much new material, including an analysis of Jefferson's ideas on the relationship between church and state and a discussion of the establishment clause cases brought before the Supreme Court since the book was originally published in 1986.

Download or read book Equal Access written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Resources in Education written by and published by . This book was released on 1987-07 with total page 810 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1983 written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 918 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Educational Reform and Dissent written by Thomas C. Hunt and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2010-01-12 with total page 1113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Educational reform, and to a lesser extent educational dissent, occupy a prominent place in the annals of U.S. education. Whether based on religious, cultural, social, philosophical, or pedagogical grounds, they are ever-present in our educational history. Although some reforms have been presented as a remedy for society′s ills, most programs were aimed toward practical transformation of the existing system to ensure that each child will have a better opportunity to succeed in U.S. society. Educational reform is a topic rich with ideas, rife with controversy, and vital in its outcome for school patrons, educators, and the nation as a whole. With nearly 450 entries, these two volumes comprise the first reference work to bring together the strands of reform and reformers and dissent and dissenters in one place as a resource for parents, policymakers, scholars, teachers, and those studying to enter the teaching profession. Key Features Opens with a historical overview of educational reform and dissent and a timeline of key reforms, legislation, publications, and more Examines the reform or dissent related to education found in theories, concepts, ideas, writings, research, and practice Addresses how reformers and dissenters become significant culture-shaping people and change the way we conduct our lives Key Themes Accountability Biographies Concepts and Theories Curriculum and Instruction Diversity Finances and Economics Government Organizations?Advisory Organizations?Business and Foundations Organizations?Curriculum Organizations?Government Organizations?Professional Organizations?Think Tanks Public Policy Religion and Religious Education Reports School Types Special Needs Technology This authoritative work fills a void in the literature in the vast areas of educational reform and dissent, making it a must-have resource for any academic library. Availability in print and electronic formats provides students with convenient, easy access, wherever they may be.

Download or read book American Civilization written by David Mauk and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This hugely successful text provides students of American studies with the perfect background and introductory information on contemporary American life. Thoroughly revised, this fifth edition covers all the central dimensions of American society from geography and the environment, government and politics, to religion, education, media and the arts. American Civilization: covers all core American studies topics at introductory level contains essential historical background for American studies students at the start of the twenty-first century analyzes gender, class and race, and America's cosmopolitan population contains photos, case studies, questions and terms for discussion, and suggests websites for further research. With new illustrations and case studies, this edition of American Civilization includes expanded sections on Asian and Latino minorities and US foreign policy activities, and provides new material including coverage of the 2008 election and the shifting economic situation. An invaluable online resource, the American Civilization companion website features a wealth of material, including extensive references for further reading, links to key primary sources, filmographies and advice to students of how to approach essay questions. Visit www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415481625 to discover more.

Download or read book The Supreme Court of the United States written by John J. Patrick and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-08-03 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This completely revised and updated third edition to the Young Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (1994) and The Supreme Court of the United States, second edition (2001) contains a complete, A-to-Z encyclopedia of the Supreme Court, its history, and current operations. This third edition includes new articles on six cases: American Library Association v. United States (2003), Bush v. Gore (2000), Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), Lawrence v. Texasr (2003), Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), and Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002). Other new articles cover Fundamental rights doctrine, Intermediate scrutiny, Preferred freedoms doctrine, Strict scrutiny, and National security issues. There are updates to articles on all sitting justices, and new articles on the two newly appointed justices, Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito. The following 17 articles are updated with new examples and cases: Abortion, Affirmative action, Appointment of justices, Capital punishment, Due process of law, Equality under the Constitution, Federalism, Freedom of speech and press, Impeachment, Jurisdiction, Lemon test, Privacy, right to, Property rights, Religious issues under the Constitution, Rights of the accused, Searches and seizures, Separation of powers. All of the back matter is thoroughly updated.

Download or read book Agreeing to Disagree written by Nathan S. Chapman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," may be the most contentious and misunderstood provision of the entire U.S. Constitution. It lies at the heart of America's culture wars. But what, exactly, is an "establishment of religion"? And what is a law "respecting" it? Many commentators reduce the clause to "the separation of church and state." This implies that church and state are at odds, that the public sphere must be secular, and that the Establishment Clause is in tension with the Free Exercise of Religion Clause. All of these implications misconstrue the Establishment Clause's original purpose and enduring value for a religiously pluralistic society. The clause facilitates religious diversity and guarantees equality of religious freedom by prohibiting the government from coercing or inducing citizens to change their religious beliefs and practices. This book details the theological, political, and philosophical underpinnings of the Establishment Clause, state disestablishment, and the disestablishment norms applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. Americans in the early Republic were intimately acquainted with the laws used in England, the colonies, and early states to enforce religious uniformity. The Establishment Clause was understood to prohibit the government from incentivizing such uniformity. This book shows how the U.S. Supreme Court has largely implemented these purposes in cases addressing prayer in school, state funding of religious schools, religious symbols on public property, and limits on religious accommodations"--

Download or read book Hearings on the Equal Access Act written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education and Labor. Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: