Topic 5 First Amendment Religion and Education

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Grand Canyon University *

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500

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Philosophy

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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First Amendment Religion and Education Wendy Olalde Grand Canyon University: POS 500 Professor Scaros March 13, 2024
As a teacher we must tread lightly when it comes to religion in our classrooms. If a student submitted an essay on Jesus and a drawing of the Last Supper, it would defiantly put a teacher in a difficult position. This is a reason why the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause were created because they aid in solving issues that arise like this one. Both are frameworks to help protect people and their rights such as “The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law respecting an establishment of religion. (United) Citizens are protected by the Free exercise Clause because it gives them the “right to practice their religion”. (“Interpretation: The Free Exercise Clause | the National Constitution Center”) Orginally there was not a precise definition on ‘establishment” but since then the Supreme Court has set a three-part test. An example would be the “Lemon” test where the government can assist religion only if (1) primary purpose of the assistance is secular, (2) the assistance must neither promote nor inhibit religion, and (3) there is no excessive entanglement between church and state. (United States Courts) There have been many court rulings related to the educational system and religion as well as it has been a topic of confusion for many people. Society has become accustomed to freedom of expression for many years, but this raises confusion for religion and public schools. Not only has the idea of “prayer in schools” been under a microscope but so has the pledge of allegiance because it states the word God in it. Most people are confused about whether it can be a part of the public education system and what is not allowed. The Supreme Court had to make that decision in 1963 in Abington School District v. Schempp. In this case schools were required to read from the bible at the opening of each school day under a Pennsylvania law. (Oyez) The Supreme Court ruled this as violating the First Amendment and that it was unconstitutional. This is just an example of a case, however cases like this can be traced back to 1859. The case of
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