Taking Religion to School: Christian Theology and Secular Education

Dover Area School District, et al. It concluded that this practice violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. A number of students objected to the practice of praying before a match through their parents on the grounds that it endorsed religion, but the other students, the majority, argued that this was not state-sponsored speech or prayers. Its 6—3 decision accepted that this practice communicates a governmental religious endorsement.

It reasoned that the speech or prayer was not private and uses the facilities of the school. The decision concluded that public school teachers supervised the match as well as the election of the student representative by the student body and therefore the school was officially encouraging prayer. The two families that objected to this practice were both religious believers—one Catholic and the other Mormon.

Both sets of parents argued that the prayers initiated by students were contrary to the Establishment Clause. It is interesting that individual Catholics are still objecting to Protestant religious practices in public schools with or without the support of their church whilst other Catholics defend the same religious practices in public schools.

The case demonstrates that the use of the Establishment Clause as an argument for the separation of religious practices and public schooling is still being employed by Christians as well as by secular campaigners. The court essentially accepted that the true purpose of the election of a student to solemnize the football game deliberately invited and encouraged prayer. Peculiarly, the court did not feel that the solemnization of an event could have been interpreted in a secular way.

The distinction that was made by the court decision was between government speech endorsing religion and private speech endorsing religion; the former is constitutionally illegal whilst the latter is permitted. In other words if the criteria for the election of the student was purely secular—elected because of good public speaking skills and social popularity—and if the elected student decided to deliver a religious message or say a prayer, then this was acceptable. The objection was not to an elected student praying before a football match but to the purpose for which he or she was elected.

This raises the question of whether someone can divorce religion from consideration in their public intentions, for example, reasons for voting for a particular candidate. The decision of the court appears to endorse the exclusion of religious-based reasons. From this it follows that students may not employ all their reasons when deliberating on whether they should elect a particular candidate.

Members of the p. Is this kind of logic possible in reality? Is it right that we ask students to leave part of their identity at home? It is one reason why these legal cases do not by themselves resolve the application and interpretation of the Establishment Clause. The second case, Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. In October the Dover Area School District in Pennsylvania changed its biology teaching curriculum to require that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to evolution theory.

Some of the parents in the area successfully argued that ID is a form of creationism and that the school board policy violated the Establishment Clause. Previous attempts to introduce creationism into the public school curriculum failed because it was taught as scientific fact. A number of science teachers in the district also refused to read the statement on the grounds that it was not science.

On 20 December the court ruled that the Dover mandate requiring that statement to be read in class was unconstitutional. The school board had claimed that their ID statement did not teach intelligent design and that it simply made students aware of its existence as an alternative to evolution, but no such statements were made about other subjects in the school curriculum.

Members of the board were also active Christians. At the November school board elections, none of the members of the Dover School Board who voted for the ID policy were re-elected, and a new school board, which rejected the policy, took office. This effectively stopped an appeal to a higher court. The judge in the Dover case believed that ID was simply a re-labeling of creationism, which had already been banned by the US Supreme Court in It was therefore unconstitutional to teach ID as an alternative to evolution in public schools.

He found that ID could not be uncoupled from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents. Employing the increasingly controversial Lemon V.

Taking religion to school : Christian theology and secular education in SearchWorks catalog

Kurtzman test, three questions were asked of the ID teaching: The judge determined that it was not considered science and it did not serve a legitimate educational purpose. He therefore concluded that ID was primarily religious in intention. The Santa Fe and Dover cases concerned themselves, respectively, with prayer on public school premises and with introducing what was perceived to be religious content to the public school curriculum. The latter case had stronger reasoning for the final decision than the former case. It is accepted that the government may not prohibit the free exercise of religion or restrict the speech of its citizens including students.

If the Santa Fe case decision had been more inclusive in its interpretation of the Establishment Clause, then it p. The European Court has been considerably influenced by the American legal duty on government to promote neutrality through strict separation. As a result, the European Court began to favor absolute secularism in the context of public schooling even though each country has a different attitude toward the place of religion in public schools.

This tendency by the European Court has been successfully challenged in recent years, and there is new emphasis on the responsibility of states to ensure neutrality and impartiality in the provision of public schooling. In all European countries, the Christian Churches are active in running schools fully or partly funded by the state. There is a complex, but often direct, financial and legal relationship between almost all European states and Christian Churches. These relationships invariably involve a public presence for Christianity in public schooling. The basic model is one of cooperation with religion as opposed to separation.

Public schools in Europe are generally provided by the state and open to all citizens. The kind of schooling provided in them often legally seeks to adopt a largely neutral and impartial approach and content to education, especially in relation to subjects or issues that are currently deemed to be contentious. However, the degree of separation between religion and a neutral education can be extremely misleading because there is wide variation among European democracies in the way that public schools and religion are institutionalized.

Whilst all European countries profess a mainly secular identity, the different notions of secular education held in each country overlap and intersect in complex and multiple ways.

Therefore, as in the United States, the future of the relationship is not a closed question but one that is constantly evolving see Cranmer and Oliva In eastern Europe religion was forbidden in public education under the communist system, but there has been a resurgence of religion since the collapse of communism in Knox Where the Catholic Church has a significant presence, thousands of new Catholic schools have been established to parallel the public school system. Where the Orthodox Church is strong, the approach has been to influence public education through the state.

The Russian Orthodox Church also campaigns to end the monopoly of Darwinism in public schools, which has echoes of similar Christian campaigns p.

Stanford Libraries

The revival of Orthodox belief in parts of eastern Europe has led to many public schools having icons of Christ placed in classrooms. There appear to be no restrictions in legislation on the placement of religious symbols in public places. However, Russia passed a law in that severely limits minority religious groups from access to schools and hospitals.

The Russian Orthodox Church certainly enjoys state-sanctioned privileges, and its revival gathers support from political and nationalist forces and is intimately connected to a consideration of Russian identity. This could also be said of other eastern European countries such as the Ukraine. The real question is whether the state in these countries is guiding the church s or whether the church is influencing the state. France has a commitment to a laicist understanding of public education that theoretically forces religion out of education and appropriates to itself the power to define public education.

1. Religion in secular education - What, in heaven’s name, are we teaching our children?.
2. Religious education - Wikipedia.
3. Taking Religion to School: Christian Theology and Secular Education.

The state employs an assertive secularism in public schooling. France generally employs exclusive neutrality, which appears to result in the state remaining blind to religious and cultural differences in schools. However, the ironic fact is that in French secular society there is a growing religious discourse, while the Catholic Church in France finds positive value in French secularism Barbier ; Allen France is pragmatic about accommodations with religion and even supports private Catholic schools.

Secular Education and Religion

Consequently, an inclusive neutrality that allows and recognizes religious and cultural differences whilst not unfairly privileging one religion over others would allow space for religious practices in schools. It is interesting that the French socialist government issued, in , a Charter for Secularity in Schools, which is essentially aimed at Muslims; particularly in addressing the call from some Islamic campaigners for modifications to dress codes and to some school subjects, such as physical education for girls and science education.

There is nothing new in this document, but it is worthy of note that most French public schools offer fish on Friday a Catholic practice but not halal meat a Muslim requirement; McGoldrick The Kjeldsen et al.

In the case of Leyla Sahin v. Turkey , it stated that: While opt-out provisions are usually available for religious instruction, they may not be available where the education is perceived as neutral. A parent committed to one particular faith may take the view that to teach about different religions in a neutral and objective way is, from their perspective, indoctrination in relativism or ideological secularization Rivers Despite the declared neutrality toward religion, many public schools across Europe often engage in practices that promote the Christian religion.

Norway , the content of the Norwegian religion and ethics curriculum was challenged. However, the European Court criticized Norway for qualitatively favoring Christianity in the public school curriculum over other religions and, since this was neither neutral nor objective, parents, it reasoned, should be provided with an opt-out. In the context of education, neutrality should ensure pluralism Norway In recent years, the European Court has had to listen to and heed arguments based on conscience much more closely than in the past.

The European Court is aware that in its proceedings it runs the risk of clashing with cultural and religious conceptions and practices. In the landmark case of Refah Partisi v. In another ruling, Hasan and Eylem Zengin v. But can the state be totally neutral in all religious or philosophical matters? At best, such an approach could diminish historical and cultural narratives.

States apply varying interpretations on what counts as a specifically religious or cultural symbol, and many religious symbols have lost their religious significance to become secular. These issues have become particularly concentrated in the controversies surrounding the display of crucifixes in public school classrooms. Most European countries have no law about religious symbols on school premises Doe However, the issue has become contentious for some and legislation differs in each European state.

For example, a cross must be displayed in Austrian public and public-status schools in classes where religious education is compulsory, if the majority of the pupils belong to a Christian denomination. In other contexts, such as the United Kingdom, an 'open' religious education has emerged from Christian confessionalism that it is intended to promote religious literacy without imparting a particular religious perspective.

This kind of religious education has drawn criticism because, it is argued, there is no neutral perspective from which to study religions and any kind of compulsory schooling is likely to impact on the formation of a student's religious identity [2]. Since people within a given country often hold varying religious and non-religious beliefs, government-sponsored religious education can be a source of conflict.

Countries vary widely in whether religious education is allowed in government-run schools often called " public schools ". Those that allow it also vary in the type of education provided. People oppose religious education in public schools on various grounds. One is that it constitutes a state sponsorship or establishment of whatever religious beliefs are taught. Others argue that if a particular religion is taught in school, children who do not belong to that religion will either feel pressure to conform or be excluded from their peers.

Proponents argue that religious beliefs have historically socialized people's behavior and morality. They feel that teaching religion in school is important to encourage children to be responsible, spiritually sound adults. In Christianity , catechesis refers to the religious instruction of children and adult converts. In traditional Muslim education, children are taught to read and sometimes speak Arabic and memorize the major suras of the Qur'an. Many countries have state-run schools for this purpose known as Madrasah Islamiyyah in Arabic; meaning "Islamic school".

Traditionally, a settlement may pay a mullah to teach children. There is a historic tradition of Sufi mullahs who wander and teach, and an ancient tradition of religious universities. However, the study of Islam does not suffice. Students must pass the state mandated curriculum to pass. Religious scholars often serve as judges, especially for criminal and family law more rarely for commercial law. In New Zealand, "Religious Education" refers to the academic teaching of religious studies. There are no officially recognised syllabuses as the school has to be officially closed in order to allow the classes to go ahead.

There are organised groups such as the Secular Education Network [6] [7] and the NZ Association of Rationalists and Humanists, [8] who are actively lobbying Government to have legislation changed to remove the classes from state primary schools. In the People's Republic of China , formal religious education is permitted.

Religious education usually occurs in scheduled sessions in private homes. In India , there are a number of private schools run by religious institutions, especially for Hindus , Muslims , Sikhs , Christians , Jains and Buddhists. During the era of British rule , Christian private schools were quite prominent and widely attended by both UK British and Indian students.

Many of the schools established during this era, especially in areas with a heavy Christian population, are still in existence today. In Japan , there are many Christian schools and universities with mandatory religious education. Any religious education at private middle and high schools requires the teacher to be accredited by a university teaching the religious education standards.

Religious or political education, or clubs that promote a specific religious or political group, are prohibited at public schools. In Pakistan , Muslim students must take Islamic studies from primary to higher education.

• Taking Religion to School: Christian Theology and Secular Education by Stephen H. Webb.
• The Thinkers Guide to Intellectual Standards (Thinkers Guide Library);
• Account Options.
• What, in heaven’s name, are we teaching our children??
• APE! (The Walter Moore Ape Series Book 1);
• Religion in secular education.
• Religious education!

The subject is optional for non-Muslim students, who can choose the subject of ethics instead. In Thailand , Burma and other majority Buddhist societies, Buddhist teachings and social decorum are sometimes taught in public school. Young men are expected to live as monks for several months at one time in their lives during which they can receive religious education.

Because of Austria 's history as a multinational empire that included the largely Islamic Bosnia , Sunni Islam has been taught side by side with Roman Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox classes since the 19th century. However, children belonging to minority religions, like Jewish , Buddhist and Latter Day Saints also study religious education in their various denominations. At many schools, secular classes in Ethics can be attended alternatively. Most of Finnish students study Evangelical Lutheran religious education. A student can receive religious education according to his or her own religion if the denomination is registered in Finland.

Since religious education is a compulsory subject, pupils who do not belong to any religious group are taught Ethics. In France , the state recognizes no religion and does not fund religious education. However, the state subsidizes private teaching establishments, including religious ones, under strict conditions of not forcing religion courses on students and not discriminating against students according to religion. An exception is the area of Alsace-Moselle where, for historical reasons it was ruled by Germany when this system was instituted in the rest of France under a specific local law , the state supports public education in some religions Catholic, Protestant, Jewish mostly in accord with the German model.

Historically, the various confessions in Germany have contributed to primary and secondary education and do so still. Education in Germany still embodies the legacy of the Prussian education system introduced by Frederick the Great in Open Preview See a Problem? Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Taking Religion to School: A discussion of how particular religious faiths should be taught in public high schools, liberal arts colleges, and public university settings.

Paperback , pages. Published October 1st by Brazos Press first published September 30th To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Taking Religion to School , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about Taking Religion to School.

Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Jan 21, Jocelyn rated it liked it Shelves: If you're a Christian who teaches Christianity in a secular setting, you should read this book. You might not agree with Webb's conclusions but you need to grapple with his arguments. The teacher must hope that an event of learning takes place, because it cannot be planned or designed. The teacher, then, is thrown into a state of faith, waiting for something like grace to occur" p. Apr 29, Bojan Tunguz rated it it was amazing.