RELIGIOUS FREEDOM GOES TO SCHOOL: THE POP QUIZ
Twice a year, school officials allow a local religious group to come into class during the homeroom period to hand out Bibles to students. Students who do not want to accept a Bible may remain seated when their row is called to the front of the room. The Bible distribution violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution...
Correct! The Bible distribution violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution. Public school officials may not allow outside groups to enter classrooms to hand out religious materials or Bibles, even if students who do not want a Bible are permitted to remain seated. In South Carolina, public schools may, under some circumstances, allow outside groups (both religious and non-religious) to provide materials to be picked up by students at a designated location within the school. However, the school must put in place appropriate safeguards to ensure that students are not coerced into accepting materials and do not view the school as endorsing the materials.
A school-day assembly features a youth minister who preaches to students and a rock band that performs religious songs. Several atheist students do not feel comfortable attending the assembly because it will include prayer and promote religion. They are told that they can watch a movie instead. The assembly violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution...
Correct! The assembly violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution. The separation of church and state means that our government cannot favor one faith over others or religion over non-religion. Under the U.S. Constitution, public school officials cannot preach or promote religious beliefs to students. They cannot get around this constitutional prohibition by inviting outside individuals or groups to preach or promote religious beliefs to students as part of school events. Schools also cannot get around this constitutional prohibition by allowing students to opt out of school events that feature prayer or preaching. The right to believe in no faith at all is just as vital a part of our constitutional protections as the right to religious exercise, and public schools may not make non-believers feel like outcasts.
Members of the basketball team decide to gather in the locker room before each game to pray. Coaches and school officials do not have any role in organizing the prayer, and they do not participate in it. The prayer is permissible under the U.S. Constitution...
Correct! The prayer is permissible under the U.S Constitution. Our Constitution prohibits public school officials from leading students in prayer, participating in prayer with students, or organizing, directing, or encouraging students to engage in prayer. But students may decide, on their own, to pray individually or together during non-instructional free time (e.g., recess or lunch) or in connection with a school event, provided that they do not cause a disruption or interfere with the education of other students.
A teacher leads her kindergarten class in prayer every day before lunch. Several parents believe that they, not the government, should direct their children's religious education and worship. They object to the teacher-led prayer. The teacher instead picks a new student each day to lead the prayer. Kindergarteners selected to lead the prayer may decline to do so if they do not feel comfortable. The prayer violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution...
Correct! The prayer violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution. Under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, public school officials cannot lead students in prayer, participate in prayer with students, or organize, direct, or encourage students to engage in prayer. By designating a student to lead a lunchtime prayer each day, the teacher is impermissibly coordinating and promoting prayer in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Allowing students to opt out of leading the prayer or allowing them to leave the room during the lunchtime prayer does not make the prayer permissible. Forcing students in this situation to make that choice is unfair and does not present a real choice, especially for younger students, who are unlikely to want to defy their teachers or make themselves stand out in a way that the teacher and other students may perceive negatively. Students of any age are permitted to engage in lunchtime prayer on their own or together, provided that they do not cause a disruption. But teachers may not be involved in any way.
A Muslim student wants to read the Q'uran to herself during recess. The school principal forbids it because Islam promotes religious beliefs different than the majority of the student body. The principal's decision is permissible under the U.S. Constitution.
Correct! The principal's decision violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution. Students of all faiths - whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or of some other belief system - have the right to read their religious texts or pray during non-instructional free time (e.g., recess or lunch) provided that they do not cause a disruption or interfere with the education of other students. Religious freedom means that students of all faiths - or no faith - can hold and exercise their beliefs without suffering discrimination by school officials because of those beliefs. Public school officials may not discriminate against students on the basis of their religion and may not deny students their religious exercise rights simply because they disagree with a particular student's religious beliefs.
A Muslim student wants to read the Q'uran to herself during recess. The school principal forbids it because Islam promotes religious beliefs different than the majority of the student body. The principal's decision violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution...
Correct! The principal's decision violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution. Students of all faiths - whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or of some other belief system - have the right to read their religious texts or pray during non-instructional free time (e.g., recess or lunch) provided that they do not cause a disruption or interfere with the education of other students. Religious freedom means that students of all faiths - or no faith - can hold and exercise their beliefs without suffering discrimination by school officials because of those beliefs. Public school officials may not discriminate against students on the basis of their religion and may not deny students their religious exercise rights simply because they disagree with a particular student's religious beliefs.
You go to Sunday School and your you math teacher is volunteering in Kids' ministry, teaching you about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. This violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution....
WRONG! The school district preventing its employee from being an active member of their place of worship would be a violation of that individuals Free Exercise.
Twice a year, school officials allow a local religious group to come into class during the homeroom period to hand out Bibles to students. Students who do not want to accept a Bible may remain seated when their row is called to the front of the room. The Bible distribution is permissible under the U.S. Constitution...
Wrong! The Bible distribution violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution. Public school officials may not allow outside groups to enter classrooms to hand out religious materials or Bibles, even if students who do not want a Bible are permitted to remain seated. In South Carolina, public schools may, under some circumstances, allow outside groups (both religious and non-religious) to provide materials to be picked up by students at a designated location within the school. However, the school must put in place appropriate safeguards to ensure that students are not coerced into accepting materials and do not view the school as endorsing the materials.
A school-day assembly features a youth minister who preaches to students and a rock band that performs religious songs. Several atheist students do not feel comfortable attending the assembly because it will include prayer and promote religion. They are told that they can watch a movie instead. The assembly is permissible under the U.S. Constitution....
Wrong! The assembly violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution. The separation of church and state means that our government cannot favor one faith over others or religion over non-religion. Under the U.S. Constitution, public school officials cannot preach or promote religious beliefs to students. They cannot get around this constitutional prohibition by inviting outside individuals or groups to preach or promote religious beliefs to students as part of school events. Schools also cannot get around this constitutional prohibition by allowing students to opt out of school events that feature prayer or preaching. The right to believe in no faith at all is just as vital a part of our constitutional protections as the right to religious exercise, and public schools may not make non-believers feel like outcasts.
Members of the basketball team decide to gather in the locker room before each game to pray. Coaches and school officials do not have any role in organizing the prayer, and they do not participate in it. The prayer violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution...
Wrong! The prayer is permissible under the U.S Constitution. Our Constitution prohibits public school officials from leading students in prayer, participating in prayer with students, or organizing, directing, or encouraging students to engage in prayer. But students may decide, on their own, to pray individually or together during non-instructional free time (e.g., recess or lunch) or in connection with a school event, provided that they do not cause a disruption or interfere with the education of other students.
A teacher leads her kindergarten class in prayer every day before lunch. Several parents believe that they, not the government, should direct their children's religious education and worship. They object to the teacher-led prayer. The teacher instead picks a new student each day to lead the prayer. Kindergarteners selected to lead the prayer may decline to do so if they do not feel comfortable. The prayer is permissible under the U.S. Constitution...
Wrong! The prayer violates religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution. Under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, public school officials cannot lead students in prayer, participate in prayer with students, or organize, direct, or encourage students to engage in prayer. By designating a student to lead a lunchtime prayer each day, the teacher is impermissibly coordinating and promoting prayer in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Allowing students to opt out of leading the prayer or allowing them to leave the room during the lunchtime prayer does not make the prayer permissible. Forcing students in this situation to make that choice is unfair and does not present a real choice, especially for younger students, who are unlikely to want to defy their teachers or make themselves stand out in a way that the teacher and other students may perceive negatively. Students of any age are permitted to engage in lunchtime prayer on their own or together, provided that they do not cause a disruption. But teachers may not be involved in any way.