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1
The Supreme Court, the First Amendment, and Belief
The curriculum, Religious
Liberty: The AmericanExperiment, including a
series of teacherprofessional development
programs around thecountry, was made
possible by generousdonations from the George
Washington Institute forReligious Freedom.
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2
Religious Liberty: The American Experiment
Lesson 5
Religious Liberty and theSupreme Court
Objectives:
Understand the facts of landmarkSupreme Court cases on the FirstAmendments protection against
established religion.
Assess the Supreme Courtsinterpretations of the FirstAmendment with respect toreligion in public schools.
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Mission Statement
Established in 1999, the Institute is a 501(c)(3) notfor profit charity focused on providing educationalresources on America's Founding documents and
principles for teachers and students of AmericanHistory and Civics. Our mission is to educateyoung people about the words and ideas of theFounders, the liberties guaranteed in our Founding
documents, and how our Founding principlescontinue to affect and shape a free society.
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Components of Professional Development
Enhance our own knowledge
Explore new teachingstrategies
Enrich the expertise ofother teachers
There is no knowledge that is not power.~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts &Literacy in History/Social Studies
8. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning inseminal U.S. texts, including the applicationof constitutional principles and use of legal
reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Courtmajority opinions and dissents) and thepremises, purposes, and arguments inworks of public advocacy (e.g., TheFederalist, presidential addresses).
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6
Important Definitions
Tolerance: refers to individualsrelationships and attitudes toward oneanother; capacity for or the practice ofrecognizing and respecting the beliefs or
practices of others.Toleration: government policy that permitsthe practice of certain religions; thepractice of religion is a privilege allowed
by government.Religious liberty: the idea that freedom ofconscience is an inalienable right not under
the legitimate control of government.
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Lesson Five
Document Based Question
Jason is the valedictorian of a public high
school. Is he allowed to mention his faithin his valedictory address?
If he does so, has the school district
violated the First Amendment? 7
Background Essay tracesdevelopments through thecases shown in the followingslides.
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Religious Liberty Landmark Cases
Establishment Clause Issues in thePublic Schools
Cases are presented here as a warm-upsee Lesson 5 in Religious
Liberty: The American Experimentfor
a Document-Based Question usingthis historical background.
8
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A public school teacher may lead theclass in prayer at the beginning of class
time.
False: Engel v. Vitale(1962) New York Board of Regents suggestedprayer for the beginning of the school day violated the EstablishmentClause. Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee,and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and ourcountry. Amen. Students who objected could be excused during theprayer. The state school board did not require the use of this prayer,
but did compose and endorse it.
1. True
2. False
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
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Teachers may teach about religionin public school.
True: School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, 1963It might well be said that ones education is not completewithout a study of comparative religion, or the history ofreligion and its relationship to the advancement ofcivilization. Study of the Bible or of religion, (must
be)presented objectively as part of a secular program of
education
1. True
2. False
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
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Tax money may be used to help pay teacher
salaries in church-related schools.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
False: In Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971, the Courtdeveloped the three-part Lemon Test for lawsdealing with religious establishment. Such a lawmust : 1. have a secular purpose, 2. haveprinciple effects that neither advance nor inhibitreligion, and 3.not foster an excessive
government entanglement with religion.
1. True
2. False
Alton Lemon
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A public school teacher may post the Ten
Commandments in his or her classroom.
False: Stone v. Graham 1980. Unless such a poster ispart of a historical display with a secular purpose,for example, in comparative religion or literaturestudies, the display would violate the Establishment
Clause.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
1. True
2. False
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A state legislature may require publicschools to institute a moment of silence for
meditation or voluntary prayer.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
1. True
2. False
Depends on the true purpose of the law. In Wallace v. Jaffree1985, it was clear that the Alabama legislature intended to
encourage school-sponsored prayer, so the Alabama statutewas unconstitutional.
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Public school students have the right to
pray individually or in groups while atschool.
True: Board of Education of Westside Schools v. Mergens 1990
Students may discuss religious topics with their peers as longas they are not disruptive. The Establishment Clauseprohibits school endorsement of religious views, but it doesnot apply to purely private speech; the same rules of orderapply to voluntary religious speech as apply to anyother type of voluntary student speech.
1. True
2. False
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
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Public school students may express their
religious beliefs in the form of reports,homework, and artwork.
True: (Mergens, 1990) Teachers must not reject or correct such submissionssimply because they include a religious symbol or address religious
themes. These assignments should be judged by ordinary academicstandards of substance, relevance, appearance and grammar. There is acrucial difference between government speech endorsing religion, whichthe Establishment Clause forbids, and private speech endorsing religion,which the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses protect.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
1. True
2. False
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Public school students may meet in a Bible
Study Club on school grounds after schoolhours.
True: (Board of Education v. Mergens, 1990) According to the
Equal Access Act, students must be allowed to participatein religious clubs on the same terms as any other non-curricular club. School officials may not actively participatein club activities and non-school persons may not control
or regularly attend club meetings.
1. True
2. False
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
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A Rabbi may lead the audience in a non-
denominational prayer at public schoolgraduation.
False: Lee v. Weisman1992: The Establishment Clause wasinspired by the lesson that in the hands of government whatmight begin as a tolerant expression of religious views mayend in a policy to indoctrinate and coerce. Prayer exercises inelementary and secondary schools carry a particular risk ofindirect coercion. (Providence, RI)
1. True
2. False
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
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Public school officials may plan
religious baccalaureate ceremonies.
False: Lee v. Weisman. School officials, when acting in theirofficial capacities, are representatives of the state and mayneither encourage nor impede student religious activity. TheEstablishment Clause means that the school must maintain aposition of official neutrality. If the school rents out itsfacilities to private groups, it must rent them on the same
terms to organizers of religious activities.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
1. True
2. False
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Public school teachers and administrators may
actively participate in the annual See You at thePole observance.
False: Peloza v. Capistrano Unified Sch. Dist. ; Lee vs. Weisman;
others.Such events are permissible for students, subject to ordinarytime, place, and manner policies set by the schools. However,school officials, acting in an official capacity, may neitherdiscourage nor encourage participation in such an event. Anyschool officials attendance at such events in a custodial
oversight role must be voluntary and non-participatory.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
1. True
2. False
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Students may lead the student body in
prayer on the P.A. system before publicschool football games.
False: In Santa Fe Independent School District v.Doe, 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that sucha practice indicates school support for
religious views, and is impermissible.
1. True
2. False
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
L d k S C C R li i F d
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State funding may be used to purchasecomputer equipment for religious schools.
True: Mitchell v. Helms 2000 Supreme Court held that thegovernment could pay for computer equipment for public,private, and religious schools because the secular goal wasimproved education for students.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
1. True
2. False
L d k S C t C R li i F d
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A public school coach may encourage andparticipate in a student-led pre-game prayerwith his/her team.
False: Borden v. School District of the Township of EastBrunswick . However, teachers may engage in privatereligious activity in faculty areas. Supreme Court
denied Bordens request on March 2, 2009.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
1. True
2. False
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A public school student may post the
Ten Commandments in his or herlocker.
True: Various. If students are permitted topersonalize or decorate the inside of their lockers,schools must not discriminate against religious
messages.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases-Religious Freedom
1. True
2. False
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