Should Schools Display The Ten Commandments

on the back of every U.S. coin are the words, ÒIn God We TrustÓ. And what

Since the founding of America, there has been concern with the church manipulating government. The separation of Church and State was to make sure the church did not become more powerful than government. In spite of wanting a separation of church and state, The United States of America became one nation under God. The earliest test of the separation of church and state with respect to education is McCollum versus Board of Education. This was a landmark case the United States Supreme Court in 1948 ended the power of a state to use its tax-supported public school system in aid of religious instruction. “The court case which prohibited the state from sponsoring specific prayers in public schools was Engel v. Vitale, decided in 1962 by an 8-1 vote.” (Cline p) It is unconstitutional to compose a school prayer and make students repeat it daily. Although these cases protect our religious freedoms, there is some fear that expelling God from public school has adverse effects. God can still be present; teachers can lead by example and teach behaviors and ethics that

Issues involving public schools and religion have been topics involving intense debate. It is difficult for the government to elucidate the appropriate boundaries of religion in the public schools. It is true that teaching about religion is permitted in the public education systems, but the real question is where the margin should be set between teaching religion and simply teaching about religion. It is almost impossible to teach about the history of the United States without teaching that religious beliefs associated with the history, artwork, and literature. More than the public is lead to believe, The Constitution permits religious activities in and around public school buildings. It is unfortunate that the

For the value of the constitutional liberties to each citizen of America, it is a must that the government stresses the freedom to teach, practice or worship based on religion. Throughout the history of America, religion has gradually decreased in importance although it is needed more now than ever. Pursuant to the first amendment to the constitution, the country must honor the values of its people. In the article “Religious Exemptions, Formal Neutrality, and Laicite” Frederick Mark Gedricks asserts that, “The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that neither the national government nor the states may enact a law prohibiting the free exercise of religion” (Gedicks). If chosen to live in a country where the government has stated the protection of religion, it is a must that they stand by that ruling. Providing the protection of religious freedom is vital to maintaining the integrity of constitutional liberties as citizens defend their own beliefs. Also, with the many disagreements of religious acts, Judge Roy Moore and his allies’ belief of the religious commitment of the country was undermined once Moore chose to place a 5, 280 pound granite monument in the state’s judicial building in Montgomery in July of 2001. His act placed disregards to his religion in which he was denied of his own beliefs. In the article, “Religion and Civil Rights”,

This has become a very controversial topic these days because of one line in the pledge, “under God” This is a “questionable religious reference” (Tucker 1). “Congress and President Eisenhower add “under God” to the pledge” (Tucker 4) in 1954, this is completely unnecessary because it brings religion into the pledge of the country and some groups of people do not believe in god, yet they are being forced to say excluding California. Such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, a group of people that do not believe in serving the country, but believe in serving god. Ultimately, our counties schools should not be obliged to recite this pledge. It is “outdated and unnecessary” (Tucker 1). Using California as an example, it does not affect the performance of students, but does affect

(Harrison, Maureen. Gilbert, Steve. Landmark Decisions of the United States Supreme Court II.) The public schools systems are not trying to offend anyone. They are trying to uphold the system of educating American students. The views of a few people should not influence the greater good of the Pledge of Allegiance. It has been recited for many years and for many years people have fought against it. People are not fighting against the statement “In God We Trust” that is imprinted on each and every coin in the United States. There is no need to change the Pledge it is there for Americans to recite to show their appreciation to a grateful nation and as a way of saluting the American Flag. Mudhillun Muqaribu wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Times titled God and the Pledge: My Brother’s Quest. Mudhillun writes that he is a Muslim who grew up in America. When he was younger, other students made it clear to him and his siblings that “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance did not apply to them. He says that he began sitting out of the Pledge in the sixth grade. The main point of his letter was to applaud Michael Newdow for upholding religious diversity in America. (Muqaribu, Mudhillun. Letter. New York Times). Mudhillun was not persecuted by anyone for his decision in sitting out in the Pledge; it was his decision and he was respected for that. Michael Newdow and the others who argue against “Under God” in the Pledge have the right

First, posting the Ten Commandments is a solution in search of a non-existent problem. Religious Right rhetoric notwithstanding, religion and prayer have not been banned from public schools; in fact the First Amendment protects students' rights to pray, discuss religious views and read religious texts in school. Second, posting the Ten Commandments would violate the First Amendment by requiring schools to favor one religion over another; the Supreme Court ruled so in 1980.

2.) The case was brought to state court by Thomas Van Orden over a monument that had the Ten Commandments engraved upon it. The monument was given to the Texas government and governor Rick Perry. The monument was erected between the State Capitol and the State Supreme Court. Van Orden argues that the monument violates the 1st Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause, which is the one of the first clauses in the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, states that the United States Congress should not enact any law in respect to any religion.

these are only a few of many examples of a broken outdated system which intertwines both church and state,

Some of the pros of having the religious status around the capitol building would be expressing the religious diversity within the state. It would also be a moral compass for the legislatures. Lastly, it would show that all religions are equal in the eyes of that state. Some of the cons would be two statuses with contradicting religions, like Christianity and Satanism, could end up right beside each other and cause an up roar among the people. Plus, there would never be an end to all the statues that need to be made because there are just too many religions. Finally, the Constitution states to keep religion away from state affairs, so the statues may violate those amendments. If I had to decide a how to resolve the conflict, I would remove the statue of Jesus and try to keep religion away from the government. The other possible solution would to provide statues for every religion.

     According to the Birmingham News, Judge Roy Moore said that he placed the two and a half ton granite monument in the lobby to help restore the moral foundation of law in Alabama (Birmingham News). Moore is quoted saying, “and you can only do that by recognizing the source of those moral laws, which is God.” Nevertheless, the moral foundation given by the founding fathers themselves for the American legal system, in both the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble, is neither the Bible nor the creator of the Bible. Instead, it is the consent of the governed for laws that promote and provide from the common safety, welfare, happiness, and the blessings of liberty (Preamble). The American Constitution is not found in the Bible, although it is a derivative of religious beliefs, the Constitution is not copied from anything in the Bible. Many laws in different states and cultures are similar to the laws of the Bible; however, this does not mean that God is the basis of our laws.

Issue: Does a 10 commandments monument on state grounds capitol building violate the 1st amendments “respecting an establishment of religion”

Perry, the court abandoned the lemon test and decided to look at the monument’s nature and the nation’s history. The court held that this is more helpful when dealing with “ passive monuments”. The court gives no clear guidance on what a passive is, but we can distill some headlines from its decision in that case. A passive display is “a far more passive use “ than the use of the Ten commandments in Stone v. Graham. Also, it should take the plaintiff, any plaintiff , a long period of time from encountering it to suing it. This thing emphasizes the non –engaging use of the ten commandments. It is worth noting that this approach is problematic because the fact that Texans didn’t challenged the monument for 40 years is a logical consequence in a state where the percentage of Christians is higher than other states. A religious monument is less likely to be challenged in a state with lower Christians percentage. This part of this approach doesn’t say anything about the religiosity or secularity of the monument. Rather, it says a lot about the religiosity of the

It is a major controversy about religion in government, separation of church and state, but to erase God from all public things is as much of a disgrace, if not more, as erasing George Washington or Abraham

Religion in Schools has proven to be a very controversial matter as of lately. Even though teaching about religion is allowed in public schools, there are still many questions that are being asked in order to provide a basis of what is appropriate for school, and what is inappropriate. The first amendment to the United States Constitution says that 'congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof' which implies that you have the choice of exercising your own religion, no matter what it may be. However, this poses an interesting argument within the public schools of America because we have such a diverse population with