Essay About Public Schools And Religious Holidays

Religion In Schools
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In America today we all have choices to make in regards to our religious beliefs. Many
young children are brought up today confused about religion and the significance it plays in their
lives. There are many sanctions and rules now on what can and cant be thought or displayed to
people on public property, but it wasnt always like this. In this paper I will be discussing the
American religious experience in regards to the impact religion has in the public schools. I will
give arguments from both sides of the spectrum first why I believe prayer shouldnt be allowed in
school and then some benefits if it were permitted. I feel very strongly about this but dont
believe it is as cut and dry as most people tend to believe it is.
Since 1776 the United States has grown from a nation of relatively few religious
differences to one of countless religious groups. This expanding pluralism challenges the public
schools to deal creatively and sensitively with students professing many religions and none. The
following questions and answers concern religious holidays and public education, a subject often
marked by confusion and conflict. Teachers and school officials, as well as parents and students,
should approach this discussion as an opportunity to work cooperatively for the sake of good
education rather than at cross purposes. School districts developing guidelines about religious
holidays will want to base their policies in the shared commitment of respect for individual
religious beliefs expressed in the constitutional guarantee of religious liberty. This means that
public schools may neither promote nor inhibit religious belief or nonbelief. Drafters of such
guidelines also will want to take account of the role of religion in history and culture.
Awareness of legal issues is essential in considering religion and public education, but the
law does not supply answers to every question. Within the current legal framework, schools-their
boards, administrators, teachers, parents, and students-must make many practical decisions
regarding religious holidays. This work can be done only by showing sensitivity to the needs of
every student and willingness to steer a course between the avoidance of all references to religion
on the one hand and the promotion of religion on the other.
You are probably asking yourself what is the courts decision in all of this. The Supreme
Court has ruled that public schools may not sponsor religious practices (Engel v. Vitale, 1962;
Abington v. Schempp, 1963) but may teach about religion. While having made no definitive
ruling on religious holidays in the schools, the Supreme Court let stand a lower federal court
decision stating that recognition of holidays may be constitutional if the purpose is to provide
secular instruction about religious traditions rather than to promote the particular religion
involved (Florey v. Sioux Falls School District, 8th Cir., 1980).
Teachers must be alert to the distinction between teaching about religious
holidays, which is permissible, and celebrating religious holidays, which is not. Recognition of
and information about holidays may focus on how and when they are celebrated, their origins,
histories and generally agreed-upon meanings. If the approach is objective and sensitive, neither
promoting nor inhibiting religion, this study can foster understanding and mutual respect for
differences in belief. Teachers will want to avoid asking students to explain their beliefs and
customs. An offer to do so should be treated with courtesy and accepted or rejected depending on
the educational relevancy. Teachers may not use the study of religious holidays as an opportunity
to inject personal religious beliefs into the discussion. Teachers should avoid
this by teaching through attribution, i.e. by reporting that “some Buddhists believe ”
When people start to argue about this topic naysayers would point out the fact that
probably 100% of schools have a Christmas holiday. Decisions about what to do in December
should begin with the understanding that public schools may not sponsor religious devotions or
celebrations; study about religious holidays does not extend to religious worship or practice.
Does this mean that all seasonal activities must be banned from the schools? Probably not, and in
any event, such an effort would be unrealistic. The resolution would seem to lie in devising
holiday programs that serve an educational purpose for all students-programs that make no
students feel excluded or identified with a religion not their own. Holiday concerts in December