Understanding The Establishment Clause

d. The first part of the Establishment Clause reads: “Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion.” e. All the statements above are correct.

4. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? a. All states in America disestablished religion by 1833. b. In the 1940s, the Supreme Court held that disestablishment applies to state governments based on the Fourteenth Amendment. c. The American government has the authority to compel attendance or financial support of a religious institution. d. The federal government cannot interfere with a religious organization’s choice of clergy or religious doctrine. e. All the statements above are correct.

5. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? a. The government has the right to extend benefits to religious entities and not others without adequate secular justification. b. In 1971, the Supreme Court surveyed its earlier Establishment Clause cases and found three factors that show whether a government practice violates the Establishment Clause. c. Using the “Lemon test,” Supreme the Court often decides Establishment Clause cases without referring to it. d. The Supreme Court Justices have not overruled the Lemon test, and the lower courts still are obliged to use it. e. All the above statements are correct.

6. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? a. Under the Establishment Clause, the government must be neutral between religious and non-religious institutions that supply education or other social services. b. Under the Establishment Clause no taxpayer funds should go to religious institutions if they might be used to communicate religious doctrine. c. In the case, Everson v. Board of Education (1947), students who attend private religious elementary and secondary schools were allowed to receive transportation and textbook subsidies. d. In the case, Board of Education v. Allen (1968), for about fifteen years, the Supreme Court attempted to draw increasingly sharp lines against the use of tax-funded assistance for the religious aspects of education. e. All the above statements are correct.

7. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? a. In the case Aguilar v. Felton (1985), the Supreme Court prohibited public school teaching specialists from going on the premises of religious schools to provide remedial assistance. b. In the case, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002), the Supreme Court upheld programs that provide aid to educational or social programs on a neutral basis.

c. The Supreme Court held in Rosenberger v. University of Virginia (1995) that it is unconstitutional under free speech or free exercise principles to exclude otherwise eligible recipients from government assistance solely because their religious activity. d. The Court’s best-known Establishment Clause decisions, Engel v.

Vitale (1962), Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), held it unconstitutional for public schools to lead schoolchildren in prayer or Bible reading for devotional purposes, even is students volunteer to participate in such activities. e. All the above statements are correct.

8. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? a. The Supreme Court prohibited prayers at graduation ceremonies in Lee v. Weisman (1992). b. Prayer at football games on public school campuses was prohibited in the Supreme Court case, Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000). c. In general, the Supreme Court allows government-sponsored prayer that occur off public school campuses. d. In Marsh v. Chambers (1983), the Court upheld legislative prayer, specifically because the practice was immersed in history. e. All the above statements are correct.

9. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? a. In Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014), the Supreme Court approved an opening prayer or statement at town council meetings. b. Hundreds of federal, state, and local laws exempt or accommodate religious believers or institutions from laws for whom compliance would conflict with religiously motivated conduct. c. American courts recognize religious exemptions for military draft orders, for kosher or halal meals for prisoners, and for parents who do not believe in medical treatment for their ill children. d. The Supreme Court held that a state sales tax exemption limited to religious publications was unconstitutional in Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock (1989). e. All the above statements are correct.

10. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? a. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the exemption of religious organizations from prohibitions on employment discrimination for ministers in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. E.E.O.C. (2012). b. The Supreme Court held that a state sales tax exemption limited to religious publications was unconstitutional in Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock (1989). c. In Lynch v. Donnelly (1984), the Court allowed display of a nativity scene surrounded by other holiday decorations. d. In County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union (1989), a majority of Justices held that the display of a nativity scene by itself at the top of the grand stairway in a courthouse violated the Establishment Clause.

e. All the above statements are correct.

For reflection:

What are the two parts of the Establishment Clause? Give an example of a violation of each part. Use internet sources to respond. Document sources. Edit your writing to correct errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. Post your reflection to the discussion board. Label the post: Examples of Violations of the Establishment Clause.

A Closing Statement:

“To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.”

-Confucius

LESSON THREE

EXAMINING “SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE” ISSUES IN PUBLIC EDUCATION

Lesson Overview:

Coined by Thomas Jefferson, the term, "separation of church and state," is derived from the expression, “wall of separation between church and state.” Separation of church and state means that the government cannot exercise its authority to set up a national religion. Since public schools constitute a local extension of the government, they cannot make religion mandatory for all students. To strengthen understanding of the two clauses of the First Amendment, this lesson presents two opposite situations related to religion in public secondary schools. Key Concepts: Establishment Clause, Separation of Church and State laws

Lesson Objectives

Students will:

 understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read.  interpret or summarize ideas in own words.  apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience.  break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts.  make informed judgements about the value of ideas or materials.  apply 1st Amendment rights to everyday situations in public education.

Expected Student Learning Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:  explain the meaning of the term, “Separation of Church and State.”  apply the Establishment Clause to religious practices in public schools.  clarify misconceptions about teaching about religion and the Hebrew Bible in public education.

Duration: 2-3 hours

Materials:

 Article: “Public Schools and Religion” (https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/encyclopedia/case/98/public-schools-and-religion) (https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/page/religion-public-schools)

 A Teacher’s Guide to Religion in the Public Schools, by Charles C. Haynes (https://religiousfreedomcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/teachersguide.pdf)  STATEMENT ON THE BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: A FIRST AMENDMENT GUIDE (https://www.aclu.org/other/statement-bible-public-schools-first-amendment-guide)  Teaching about the Bible in Public School: How to do it Right (https://www.au.org/the-latest/church-and-state/articles/teaching-about-the-bible-inpublic-schools/ )  The First Amendment Lesson Plan: Religion in Public School (https://mtsu.edu/firstamendment/page/religion-public-schools)  Religion in Colonial America: Trends, Regulations, and Beliefs  Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools, by Charles C.

Haynes and Oliver Thomas. First Amendment Center, 2011.  “How Should We Teach the Bible in Public Schools? by Mark A. Chancey (2014) (https://religionandpolitics.org/2014/01/07/how-should-we-teach-the-bible-in-publicschools/ )  Internet access/e-mail/computer editing ability  Notebook/paper/pen

Procedure:

 Use a reliable internet resource to read the First Amendment Establishment Clause resources listed above.  Explain the meaning of and purpose for the Establishment Clause.  Give examples of how religious liberty might be infringed upon by the local, state, and federal governments.  Read the two hypothetical situations in the First Amendment Lesson Plan: Religion in Public School (https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/page/religion-public-schools).  Contrast the actions of the school officials in both situations.  Explain why, under the First Amendment, the school officials’ actions were wrong.  Respond to study questions.  Write a reflection on the lesson.  Edit your writing.  Post the reflection on the discussion board.  Label the reflection: A Reflection on “Separation of Church and State” Issues