Describes the First Amendment of the US Constitution and religious education in public schools and the implementation of "public schools may not inculcate nor inhibit religion."

DIVPublic schools can play a role in promoting respect for religious differences/div

Explains what the law is on common religious liberty and church-state questions in the public school context. Covers: prayer in the schools; teaching about religion; use of classroom space for student-initiated religious activities; holiday observances; released time programs; physical facilities; dual enrollment; distribution of Gideon bibles or religious literature; scientific creationism; curriculum content; secular humanism; compulsory attendance and religious holidays; dress codes; vaccination requirements; and teachers' rights and responsibilities.

Addresses the attempts to find common ground in schools & communities across America. Includes: religious liberty in Amer. public life; the Supreme court, religion, & public education; strategies for finding common ground; religion in the curriculum; resources for teaching about religion in U.S. & world history; religious holidays in the public schools; the Equal Access Act & the public schools; religious expression & character educ. in public schools; & religious practices of students. Also: The Williamsburg Charter, & sample school district policies.

Two cornerstones of American democracy - separation of church and state, and public schools - are under increasing attack. As this collection of essays, written by some of America's leading educators, political figures, and advocates of religious liberty shows, universal public education and the separation of church and state are related. The eminent contributors to this book argue that we need to defend both institutions against increasing onslaughts by the Religious Right and other self-proclaimed arbiters of societal behavior, who seek to dictate public policy and who are labeling the public schools themselves as "immoral" institutions. At issue here is not whether public schools need to be improved. It is assumed that improvement is necessary. Part One of this volume testifies to the need for separation of church and state, explores the intent of our nation's founders on the subject, and deals with issues of separation within education. Several historical examples are given of battles between the upholders of strict separation and those who would ignore this constitutionally mandated principle. Part Two discusses the dangers of heeding the current call - under the banner of school "choice" - to ingore the principle of separation by allowing public tuition subsidies of private schools, the great majority of which are parochial. This drive to underwrite school tuition via vouchers, tax credits, or tuition tax deductions would create not only a dangerous entanglement of government with religion but could lead to the eventual demise of America's public schools. Contributors to this important collection are Robert Alley, Ann Bastian, Charles Bergstrom, Robert Bullough, Michael Casserly, Edd Doerr, Arnold Fege, Florence Fast, Donald Frey, Colin Greer, Herbert Grover, T. Jeremy Gunn, Bill Honig, Shirley McBay, Al Menendez, Michael Oleska, Sam Rabinove, William Rioux, William Schulz, Eugenie Scott, August Steinhilber, John Swomley, Oliver Thomas, Julie Underwood, and James Wood.

Religion has become a charged token in a politics of division. In disputes about faith-based social services, public money for religious schools, the Pledge of Allegiance, Ten Commandments monuments, the theory of evolution, and many other topics, angry contestation threatens to displace America's historic commitment to religious freedom. Part of the problem, the authors argue, is that constitutional analysis of religious freedom has been hobbled by the idea of "a wall of separation" between church and state. That metaphor has been understood to demand that religion be treated far better than other concerns in some contexts, and far worse in others. Sometimes it seems to insist on both contrary forms of treatment simultaneously. Missing has been concern for the fair and equal treatment of religion. In response, the authors offer an understanding of religious freedom called Equal Liberty. Equal Liberty is guided by two principles. First, no one within the reach of the Constitution ought to be devalued on account of the spiritual foundation of their commitments. Second, all persons should enjoy broad rights of free speech, personal autonomy, associative freedom, and private property. Together, these principles are generous and fair to a wide range of religious beliefs and practices. With Equal Liberty as their guide, the authors offer practical, moderate, and appealing terms for the settlement of many hot-button issues that have plunged religious freedom into controversy. Their book calls Americans back to the project of finding fair terms of cooperation for a religiously diverse people, and it offers a valuable set of tools for working toward that end.

This is the first thorough examination of school prayer to bring together the experiences of parents and children involved in contesting public school sanctioned prayer and Bible reading. Alley explores the way in which terms like "nonpreferentialism," "toleration" and "accommodation" are being used to hide violations of the First Amendment. Personal interviews were conducted with those involved in seven prominent cases. Each story challenges communities that impose the mores and cultural patterns of religion on their public schools. The result, in most instances, has been angry protests as well as threats against parents and children, and/or property damage. What's wrong with a little prayer? One need only observe the ways in which religious fervor leads to the use of the Bible and prayer as a weapon against minorities.