Controversial Supreme Court decisions have barred organized
school prayer, but neither the Court nor public policy exclude
religion from schools altogether. In this book, one of America's
leading constitutional scholars asks what role religion ought to
play in public schools. Kent Greenawalt explores many of the most
divisive issues in educational debate, including teaching about the
origins of life, sex education, and when--or whether--students can
opt out of school activities for religious reasons.
Using these and other case studies, Greenawalt considers how to
balance the country's constitutional commitment to personal
freedoms and to the separation of church and state with the vital
role that religion has always played in American society. Do we
risk distorting students' understanding of America's past and
present by ignoring religion in public-school curricula? When does
teaching about religion cross the line into the promotion of
religion?
Tracing the historical development of religion within public
schools and considering every major Supreme Court case, Greenawalt
concludes that the bans on school prayer and the teaching of
creationism are justified, and that the court should more closely
examine such activities as the singing of religious songs and
student papers on religious topics. He also argues that students
ought to be taught more about religion--both its contributions and
shortcomings--especially in courses in history. To do otherwise, he
writes, is to present a seriously distorted picture of society and
indirectly to be other than neutral in presenting secularism and
religion.
Written with exemplary clarity and even-handedness, this is a
major book about some of the most pressing and contentious issues
in educational policy and constitutional law today.
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