1. Religious Pluralism in Secular Classrooms
Chapter 9
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2. Rationale for Attending to Religion in Public Schools
Americans have always been concerned with the role of religion in matters of state. 
Much of the cultural capital of the United States has emerged from attempts to answer basically religious questions.
While religion in some societies permeates the whole culture, in the United States the founders were concerned that religion be separated from the state. The Constitutional language of the First Amendment tries to guarantee that separation: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, [establishment clause] or prohibiting the free exercise thereof [prohibition clause]…"
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3. Definitions of Religion
Universal definitions:
“a system of beliefs and practices by means of which a group of people struggle with…the ultimate problems of human life” (Yinger)
“…a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things…beliefs and practices which unite into some single moral community…” (Durkheim)
Sectarian definitions define and describe particular religious denominations in terms of:
Theological point of view
Religious practices and experience
Knowledge of scriptures and traditions
Consequences for daily life and for “falling away” from the faith
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4. Changes in the United States Over Time
The degree to which religious belief has been deemed necessary to public life has changed.
Technology, especially television, has enabled people to have knowledge of religion without actually attending services.
The increasing interdependence of the world’s social systems means that one religious system can have an enormous impact on other religious systems, and, indeed, on daily life around the world.
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5. Religious Pluralism in the United States
Prior to colonization, a wide variety of religious practices by native peoples, usually focused on a central deity and a close relationship between human beings and nature
The colonial era brought western European Christianity and Judaism, which believed humans were destined to control nature.
Different sects took hold in different areas: e.g. New England Protestantism, an Anglican model in the Southern colonies, and greater diversity in the middle colonies--Catholicism, Quakers, Anabaptists.
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6. African religions were brought to the colonies by captured slaves; these combined with and enriched the primarily Protestant Christian traditions
African-American churches still have an immense influence on the cultural and educational lives of their members.
The Muslim faith is currently one of the fastest growing religions in the United States.
Membership is in part African American (e.g., the Nation of Islam).
Members are also immigrants from Middle Eastern countries (e.g., Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria), from both North and sub-Saharan Africa, and from Malaysia.
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7. Religious Pluralism in the Classroom
Pedagogies: Old and New
Teachers should know the backgrounds of their students and their students’ families.
Teachers should know something about the worldview of particular religions represented in their classes.
Roles: Old and New
Because of potential conflict, teachers need to assume a role as interpreter and, sometimes, mediator.
School rules and customs such as dress codes may have to be amended for those from different religious backgrounds.
The school calendar may also have to take a variety of religious holidays into account.
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8. Place of Content Knowledge: Old and New
While schools have tried to cope with religious controversy by trying to avoid it, religious history, as well as religious architecture, art, music, and ideas can become the basis for an enriched and affirming classroom.
Remember that the Supreme Court has not, in any of its decisions on the subject, prohibited discussions about religion in schools.
Assessment: Old and New
Use sensitivity when creating exam questions on subjects related to religion (e.g., on evolution).
Use sensitivity when deciding about the use of psychological testing and health screening techniques.
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9. Perspectives on Religion and Schooling in the United States
Constitutional language in the First and Fourteenth Amendments has been both the source of religious freedom and the source of educational battles.
Sources of tension include:
The need for schools, as an arm of the state, to support a basic freedom guaranteed by the Constitution
The need for schools, also as an arm of the state, to uphold the separation of church and state
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10. Categories of Debate Education’s role in protecting private freedoms:
“those that inhere in the individual, and therefore may not be invaded or denied by the state.” (Butts)
Education’s role in guaranteeing public freedoms:
“…those that inhere in the welfare of the democratic political community…” (Butts)
Education has a role to play in protecting private freedoms, or “those that inhere in the individual, and therefore may not be invaded or denied by the state.”
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11. Private Freedoms and Some Relevant Court Cases
Compulsory Attendance
Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925): children must go to school, but private religious schools satisfy that requirement
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972): Old Order Amish can disobey Wisconsin’s compulsory schooling law and withdraw their children after the eighth grade 
The Practice of Religious Beliefs in Classrooms
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnett (1943): no one can be forced to salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance if it violates individual conscience
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12. School Prayer
Abington v. Schempp (1963): requiring student participation in sectarian prayers and reading from the Bible, particularly the New Testament, is unconstitutional
Lee v. Weisman (1992): sectarian prayers at high school graduations are unconstitutional
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000): sectarian prayers at high school football games are unconstitutional
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13. Public Freedoms and Some Relevant Court Cases
Public Funding for Religious Schools
Cochran v. Louisiana Board of Education (1930): use of public funds to purchase textbooks for private schools is constitutional
Everson v. Board of Education (1947): use of public funds to bus students to religious schools is constitutional
The National Defense Education Act (1958) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965) provided funds for some aspects of private religious schooling
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14. The Provision of Religious Instruction
The Provision of Religious Instruction
McCollum v. Board of Education (1948): religious instruction in public schools is unconstitutional
Zorach v. Clausen (1952): religious instruction during school hours is constitutional if it takes place off school grounds
Voucher programs intended to provide competition for public schools, often result in increased enrollment in parochial schools.
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15. Perspectives on Religious Identity
Religious identity has its roots in the family.
It is perhaps the most common and also perhaps the strongest source of identity.
Religious identity places an individual in a particular relationship with a deity.
Changing religions is a common occurrence in the United States.
The fastest-growing churches in the U.S. are conservative.
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16. Organized Religion and the Net Generation
Technology is playing an important role in attracting a new generation to churches, religious affiliations, and fundamentalist organizations.
This trend is leading to a new religious phenomenon amongst the young, characterized by subtlety, individuality, and reliance on information technologies.
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17. The Influence of the “Religious Right”
While the so-called “religious right” is a contemporary conservative political movement of Protestant Christians, it is not the only conservative religious movement.
Fundamentalist movements are prevalent in all major religions around the world.
Particular educational interests of fundamentalist movements:
Prayer in schools
Curriculum content
Teaching of morality and “character”
Funding for private and parochial schools
Censorship of books available to or required of students
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18. Ethical Issues
Responsibility of teachers to be aware of and understand the religious background of their students
Responsibility of teachers to be on the watch for religious prejudice
Responsibility of teachers to know the law with respect to religious issues
Responsibility of teachers to be sensitive to students’ religious beliefs with respect to curriculum content, religious dress, religious holidays, and methods of instruction
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