...Freedom of Religion and Public Education The United States came to be because people fled their homes in search of one thing, religious freedom. It was the search for religious freedom that motivated people to leave their homes and cross thousands of miles on boats to come to America. This search for the right to practice religion freely is the reason that religious freedom is considered so important in the United States. And it is secured for its citizens through the first amendment, which reads “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...” (as cited by Killian, 1994). This part of the article calls for the separation of church and state as well as the protection of religious...
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...on the basic principles of America: freedom, equal opportunity, and rights accompanied by responsibilities.” (Nelson, n.d., quote 1). From a personal perspective this quote can be interpreted as, while many individuals might have a personal opinion or definition of what it means to be an American, there is still a clear foundation in which it is built upon. It is viewed that it is the rights, freedoms, and opportunities for all, and with those liberties also comes a responsibility to all individuals. Such responsibilities to ourselves and others include moral obligations, ethical behavior, and respect. As members of society, there are situations that may be difficult that...
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...The decision of the United States Supreme Court in the case of Wisconsin v. Yoder was a significant statement for both public education and religious freedom. In terms of religious freedom, the requirement of the government to present a compelling reason to deny exercise of religious beliefs was reaffirmed. Meanwhile, public education continued to be presented as optional, provided that the objecting parents could present an adequate alternative for the education of their children. The case of Wisconsin v. Yoder began with the conviction of three Amish parents for refusing to send their children to public school after the eighth grade when Wisconsin law required attendance until the age of 16. The case underwent a series of appeals until it reached the United States Supreme Court in 1972. The state’s argument was based on an equal application of its role as parens patriae, which gives the government the right to act on behalf of children against abusive or neglectful parents. They argued that depriving the children of public education was...
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...AN EXAMINATION OF FREEDOM OF RELIGION PROVISIONS IN PUBLIC BODIES IN NEW ZEALAND, CANADA, AND THE UNITED STATES by ELIZABETH G. FOX 28 August 2009 1 I INTRODUCTION New Zealand does not have a state religion in the way that other countries do.1 The Church of England, for example, has its doctrine and prayer book ratified by Parliament and has the Queen as supreme authority over both ecclesiastical and civil matters.2 However, the central legislators of this country listen to the Speaker of the House open each Parliamentary session with the following prayer.3 Almighty God, humbly acknowledging our need for Thy guidance in all things, and laying aside all private and personal interests, we beseech Thee to grant that we may conduct the affairs of this House and of our country to the glory of Thy holy name, the maintenance of true religion and justice, the honour of the Queen, and the public welfare, peace, and tranquillity of New Zealand, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Is this appropriate in a country that professes no state church and the tolerance of all religions equally?4 Religious content has historically infiltrated governing and administrative bodies. However, with the cultural disestablishment of Christianity and the emergence of toleration for all faiths, there continues to be the presence and preference of a small set of religions by the State. The degree to which religion interacts with the State varies with different public bodies. One reaction...
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...Cheryl Chamblin August 07, 2011 Exploring Education as a Profession Latonya Pitts The Evolving Role of State and Federal Government in U.S. Education America established with the right to choose the religion that suited the people a right that is taken very seriously among the people of America. They escaped countries where they were forced to worship in one way. When they came to America, That freedom made America great. That freedom can also cause quite a bit of controversy in the public school system. The American public school system is not equipped to deal with the many different religions that the American families may have. The public education system has changed throughout the years as different amendments were added to the United States Constitution. This paper will examine certain cases that that have influenced the American school system. The separation of church and state in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is a separation of personal beliefs that is so different then one another and this makes religion a complicated issue for the public schools (Davis, 2003). Many significant cases have been set to change the direction of education to provide an equal education system Lau versus Nichols in 1974 under the fourteenth amendment of equal protection clause. This case under the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits federally, funded programs from discriminating of the basis of race and national origin. This law-required...
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...1)Is there enough religious freedom in Europe? Human rights’ key word is Freedom of religion .If there is no freedom of religion ,all other freedoms are damaged.When freedom of religion go well, other freedoms goes well.If a person belive human rights , he/she should respect the other belief and he/she should respect being different because every people are equal and every people has different characters ,different opinions. Europe has different cultures ,different people but thet don’t have many diversity of religion.Generaly their religion is Christianity ,all the systems are based on the common background of Christianity and they have only 3 denominations.(Catholic,Orthodox and Protestant).Because of this it is not difficult to respect.If they had many dominations,respect would be difficult.For example in my country Turkey,there are many dominations so there are many sectarian conflict. Other situation is that education rate is very high in Europe.If there is high education rate in a country,tolerance rate is high.Therefore religious freedom has gained a strong position in European Union law. There is no peace, though, no prosperity, no proper justice without freedom.I can see that there is tolerance in Europe. They established their own culture ,their own religions so they can respect each other.I belive that if many Muslim people (or other religions)come to Europe,European people won’t be respect.They will be in a conflict because their life...
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...Module 2: Religious Issues Module 2: Religious Issues Matt Landahl Grand Canyon University: EDA-555: Legal Issues In Education 08-15-2012 Module 2: Religious Issues The topic of religion has been a stagnant and emotional debate within the educational system since the beginning of public education as well as the first steps of the constitution. The Constitutional First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech.” With this saying citizens feel it is their constitutional right to practice religion or prayer in any setting including public schools. Several issues that arise in the public schools are; saying God in the Pledge of Allegiance, vaccinations of students, and student led religious activities in the public school setting. These issues have led to many debates and court cases. Religion will be an ongoing controversy in public schools since there are different interpretations of the Constitutional Amendments. It is imperative for an administrator of the school to know and understand the laws, to stay neutral, and to seek legal advice when dealing with separation of church and state One of the most controversial issues in the United States and public schools is the use of the word God in the Pledge of Allegiance. This debate dates as far back at 1892 when Francis Bellamy wrote the pledge without the words “under god”...
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...law. All public bodies (such as courts, police, local governments, hospitals, publicly funded schools, and others) and other bodies carrying out public functions have to comply with the Convention rights. This means, among other things, that individuals can take human rights cases in domestic courts; they no longer have to go to Strasbourg to argue their case in the European Court of Human Rights. The Act sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals in the UK have access to. They include: * Right to life * Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment * Right to liberty and security * Freedom from slavery and forced labor * Right to a fair trial * No punishment without law * Respect for your private and family life, home and correspondence * Freedom of thought, belief and religion * Freedom of expression * Freedom of assembly and association * Right to marry and start a family * Protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and freedoms * Right to peaceful enjoyment of your property * Right to education * Right to participate in free elections The Human Rights Act 1998 (c 42) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000.[1] Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, but more commonly...
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...Prayer in Public Schools Raymond Ballou PHI 200 Instructor: Michelle Loudermilk 3/31/12 America’s Decline: Banning Prayer in Public Schools A very controversial widespread issue today is the right to have volunteer prayer in public schools. This issue has been constantly debated for years whether prayer in public schools should be permitted. For more than 200 years, public schools were allowed voluntary prayer. Our forefathers built our nation on Christian values. The first English settlers came to America for the right to freedom and to worship God in their own way. In Colonial America, most schools were run by the churches. The first settlers in America felt that it was important that children learned to read so that they could read their Bibles. Prayer has been a part of our culture as long as there have been public schools; this helped the students develop morals and learn right from wrong. School prayer was a natural part of the settler’s school life. There is a casual relationship between taking prayer out of our schools and the downfall of our society today. The basic dispute over this issue is that it violates The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and the separation of church and state. The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States gives every individual the same rights. One right is the constitutional protection for the free exercise of religion. The second right is prohibition of the establishment of religion by the state...
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...SCHEDULE 1 The Articles PART I The Convention Rights and Freedoms Article 2 Right to life 1 Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. 2 Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this Article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary: (a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence; (b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; (c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection. Article 3 Prohibition of torture No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 4 Prohibition of slavery and forced labour 1 No one shall be held in slavery or servitude. 2 No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. 3 For the purpose of this Article the term “forced or compulsory labour” shall not include: (a) any work required to be done in the ordinary course of detention imposed according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Convention or during conditional release from such detention; (b) any service of a military character or, in case of conscientious objectors in countries where they are recognised, service exacted instead of compulsory military service; ...
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...Mergens in 1990. In this case the court discussed whether the school could deny the formation of a “Christian club” under the First Amendment’s no establishment of a religion. This came about when the school denied the formation of the club because the students did not have a faculty sponsor. The students claimed they were under the protection of the Equal Access Act, therefore the court was deciding whether the Equal Access Act was unconstitutional. The court ruled that since the club was non-curricular and since other non-curricular clubs were allowed the students were allowed to create the club under the Equal Access Act, meaning the Equal Access Act was not unconstitutional in violating the First Amendment ("Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens By and Through Mergens." Oyez, 5 Apr. 2018, www.oyez.org/cases/1989/88-1597). I agree with the courts decision, because the students have the right under the Equal Access Act to form a club like the other...
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...debate for scientific accuracy has been a hot topic for many years. One aspect of study suggests that focusing on logical, ‘proven’ studies of science are the pinnacle of any teaching, while the other says that freedom of speech in an academic capacity is the primary goal. The way an individual looks upon such questions is mainly based on upbringing and social views. Someone raised in a religious household is bound to view the debate on intelligent design, creationism, and evolution in a radically different light than that of someone raised without religion as a basis for understanding. The concerns voiced throughout the article of choice about Professor Hedin are deep and wide. They are mostly based on the principles of freedom of academic speech, generic freedom of speech, sound science principles, and whether or not it is robbing a professor of their freedom of academic speech by forcing them to focus on what the majority of scientific scholars view as legitimate. The idea that Professor Hedin’s teaching on Intelligent Design is somehow a legal dilemma seems to be grasping for traction. That is to say, it is a far stretch of the imagination. It would seem that though it may be a legal dilemma, it is much more an ethical issue. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, but it does not protect nor apply in this situation, because the university does not require Hedin’s course ‘Boundaries of Science’ to be taken. PZ Meyers, a biologist at the University of Minnesota puts...
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...Professor Thomas Bundenthal Title WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION ET AL. V. BARNETTE ET AL. Facts of the Case In 1942, the state of West Virginia passed a law requiring students in public schools to salute the flag. A certain religious sect in American society believes that saluting a flag is sacrosanct and violates their freedom of religion. The plaintiff's are part of a sect of Jehovah's? Witnesses that believe saluting a flag are against their religion. Three people whose children were attending the public schools in West Virginia brought the lawsuit against the Board of Education in the state. The lawsuit was brought by plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and their children and all other persons in the State of West Virginia in a similar situation. The purpose of the lawsuit was to secure an injunction restraining the State Board of Education from imposing against them a requirement of the Board making it mandatory for children in the schools to salute the American flag. The Law...
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...Religious Freedom in America The United States of America, though founded upon Christianity, boasts liberal religious freedom, a distinct separation of church and state. This creates a disparity between the religiously affluent and the proclaimed atheist, the Muslim and the Christian, the Buddhist and the Scientologist. One of the most highly debated issues upon freedom of religion includes the removal of the words “Under God” from the pledge of allegiance in public schools. Christians insinuate a loss of our foundation and morals to their children, while atheists, Muslims, and other religious sectors are entitled to equality. This may stem from a mix of power and value differences. While I do agree that The United States does stem from Christianity, I feel that religious freedom is specifically outlined in the constitution by our founding fathers. There is a value that Christians hold within the Bible and their beliefs, in which they feel the liberal government is taking away. They feel the loss of foundation that our country was based upon. They feel powerless. The forfeiture of “Under God” within public schools is clearly in line with our rights. However, because the United States is based upon Christianity as a whole, I do believe that public education should branch to provide an education in which Christians can send their children to a school that is able to maintain Christian beliefs and continue worship God as they know Him within a religious sector. This would provide...
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...Fathers were composing the Constitution, there was no formalized education for all. At the time, only boys, mainly from affluent families, attended school. Private grammar schools opened in the 1700s to prepare boys to attend ivy league colleges. Free public education for all was never a thought during the 1700 and 1800s, however those documents which were written then have an impact on education today. Even with these documents much power concerning education remains with the states. Cases such as Brown vs. Broad of Education 1954 argued the separate-but-equal doctrine violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Engel v. Vitale (1962) and 8. Abington School District v. Schempp (1963) shaped the modern understanding of how the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment constrains prayer in public schools. San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1972) argued that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment mandates equal funding among school districts. Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) argued the Freedom of Speech. These are just a few cases that have made it to the top court in the land in part because of the way schools, districts, and states interpret statements written over two...
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