Soleil Dixon-Widman First Amendment_ Religion and Education
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First Amendment: Religion and Education
Soleil Dixon-Widman
POS-500-O501
May 17, 2023
I remember being taught in school that the "forefathers" of the United States came to this land seeking religious freedom. From my recollection of what I was taught, the early settlers wanted to be able to worship whomever or whatever they desired. They even went as far as writing it in their Constitution and overly stating it in the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment of
the Bill of Rights states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, "Not only did I learn the First Amendment, but I also made sure to pass it down to my children, especially the part about freedom of religion; and I am certain that other parents have done the same concerning what they believe their children should know about their rights. It has only been 61 years since the United States Supreme Court ruled that "school-mandated prayer was unconstitutional." (Palestine, 2002). Since then, it has been three generations to date who did not know of prayer in school, that is, Christian prayer. A student would have the right, according to the directives of the
assignment, to choose their hero regardless of religious affiliation. The directions did not define any character traits, sexual orientation, race, or cultural, economic, or social standards for what a hero is, so the student, exercising his first amendment right, chose to write about his hero, Jesus. So what is a hero? According to the definition of a hero, as defined by Google, a hero is a
person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Heroes rescue us when we are in danger and watch over us to keep us safe. According to the Bible, there are many examples of Jesus being admired for his courage, outstanding achievements (performing miracles), and royal descent. Followers of Jesus equate him with being God who lived among men. The forefathers even considered Jesus, a hero as they memorialized him on their currency, "In God We Trust." Therefore, a student would have been
able to choose a grasshopper to be his hero just so long as the student admired it for its courage and other hero attributes.
I mentioned earlier that the First Amendment allows us to say what we want to say without persecution when it comes to religion. As a result, I would have no problems accepting an essay or its pictorial depiction based on the directives for the assignment. Also, there is a clause in the first amendment known as the "Establishment Clause." "The First Amendment's Establishment Clause prohibits the Government from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion." (First Amendment and Religion) "This clause forbids the Government
from establishing an official religion and prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another." (Bill of Rights - Religion and the "establishment clause")
The case involving Christian Legal Society v. Martinez was about a "Christian student group that was denied official recognition by a public law school because the group insisted that its voting members and leaders accept and adhere to a statement of faith." "The decision by the U.S. The Supreme Court confirmed the decision to let the law school at the University of California at Hastings deny recognizing a chapter of the Christian Legal Society as a "Registered
Student Organization." The U.S. Court of Appeals said that the school's conditions were recognizing student groups were viewpoint neutral and reasonable." (Vile, Christian Legal Society V. Martinez) Therefore, the school's conditions did not violate the CLS's First Amendment rights.
In closing, the church and State can be combined unless it's outside of the parameter of the Establishment Clause. Students have the right to express their religious beliefs, but when describing it, it has to be relevant to the subject taught in school. Teachers must display what is
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appropriate for the school setting as it meets the assignment requirement. If the assignment meets
the requirement needs, it should be graded accordingly and displayed.
References:
Christian Legal Society Chapter v. Martinez. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved May 17, 2023, from https://www.oyez.org/cases/2009/08-1371#:~:text=Facts%20of%20the%20case&text=On
%20appeal,%20the%20U.S.%20Court,the%20CLS's%20First%20Amendment%20rights
.
First Amendment and Religion
. United States Courts. (n.d.-a). https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/first-amendment-
and-religion
Jett, C. C. (2019, February 25). Bill of Rights - Religion and the “establishment clause.”
Critical Skills. https://criticalskillsblog.com/2019/02/25/bill-of-rights-religion-and-the-
establishment-clause/
Palestini, Robert; Palestini Falk, Karen (2002). Law and American Education: An Instructor's Guide
. R&L Education. p. 33. ISBN
9781461731634
. Archived
from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
The United States Government. (2021a, January 20). The Constitution. The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-constitution/
#:~:text=The%20First%20Amendment%20provides%20that,the%20right%20to%20bear
%20arms
. Vile, J. R. (n.d.). Christian Legal Society V. Martinez. Christian Legal Society v. Martinez.
https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1449/christian-legal-society-v-martinez