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Kylie Burk's List: Diigo Notecards

  • May 01, 13

    Information on school policies dealing with religion

    • General Rule: Organized prayer in the public school setting,  whether in the classroom or at a school-sponsored event, is unconstitutional.  The only type of prayer that is constitutionally permissible is private,  voluntary student prayer that does not interfere with the school's educational  mission.

    • Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290  (2000)

       

      Facts:
      In Santa Fe, Texas, students were elected by their  classmates to give pre-game prayers at high school football games over the  public address system. A number of students sued, arguing that such solemnizing  statements or prayers constituted an endorsement of religion, violating the  Establishment Clause. The district countered that the pre-game invocations were  a long-standing tradition in Texas communities. Moreover, the prayer came from a  student, thus making it student speech and not state-sponsored speech.

       

      Issue:
      Whether a student-led prayer over the public  address system before high school football games violates the Establishment  Clause.

       

      Holding:
      In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled that the  pre-game prayer given by a student at high school football games communicates a  government religious endorsement, and as such, violates the Establishment  Clause.

       

      Reasoning:
      The Court was not persuaded by the district’s  arguments, finding that the student speech was not private. The control the  school maintained over the content of the student speech registered government  preference for religious speech or prayer. In view of the history of religious  practices in the school district, the district’s student election policy  appeared to be designed to maintain the practice of pre-game prayers. The Court  also found that the voting mechanism used by the school to determine whether a  message would be given and who would give it only exacerbated the Establishment  Clauses issues since the different religious groups within the school now became  rival political factions. Voting for the speaker ensured not only sectarian  conflict, but that only the majoritarian religious voice would ever be heard.  These factors led the Court to find that the district policy on pre-game  messages resulted in both perceived and real endorsement of religion by the  government, and therefore was unconstitutional.

       

      Majority:
      "The delivery of such a message -- over the  school's public address system, by a speaker representing the student body,  under the supervision of school faculty, and pursuant to a school policy that  explicitly and implicitly encourages public prayer -- is not properly  characterized as 'private' speech." (Justice John Paul Stevens)

       

      Dissent:
      "The Court distorts existing precedent to  conclude that the school district’s student-message program is invalid on its  face under the Establishment Clause. But even more disturbing than its holding  is the tone of the Court's opinion; it bristles with hostility to all things  religious in public life. Neither the holding nor the tone of the opinion is  faithful to the meaning of the Establishment Clause, when it is recalled that  George Washington himself, at the request of the very Congress which passed the  Bill of Rights, proclaimed a day or 'public thanksgiving and prayer, to be  observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of  Almighty God.'" (Chief Justice William Rehnquist)

    • In 1962, the justices ruled that official prayer had no place in public  education.

       

      This decision is widely misunderstood today. The court did  not rule that students are forbidden to pray on their own; the  justices merely said that government officials had no business composing a  prayer for students to recite

    • The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that everyone in the United  States has the right to practice his or her own religion, or no religion at  all. 

       

      Our country's founders -- who were of different religious backgrounds  themselves -- knew the best way to protect religious liberty was to keep the  government out of religion. So they created the First Amendment -- to  guarantee the separation of church and state. This fundamental freedom is a  major reason why the U.S. has managed to avoid a lot of the religious conflicts  that have torn so many other nations apart. 

       

      The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits  government from encouraging or promoting ("establishing") religion in any way.  That's why we don't have an official religion of the United States. This means  that the government may not give financial support to any religion.  That's why many school voucher programs violate the Establishment Clause --  because they give taxpayers' money to schools that promote religion.

       

      The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment gives you the  right to worship or not as you choose. The government can't penalize you because  of your religious beliefs. 

       
    • The Constitution does not require that religion be ignored or prohibited in the  classroom. It does require that government, and therefore, public school  employees, maintain neutrality toward the various religions while carrying out  their employment duties.
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