By JOHN RICHARD SCHROCK
School-sponsored prayer is not back, despite some media announcements in mid-January. The First Amendment enacted in 1791 clearly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof....” Thomas Jefferson stated this clause was to establish a “wall of separation between church and state.” In 1947, the U.S. Supreme Court reinforced that the government must remain neutral toward religion. That includes public schools as state agencies.
Summary of Significant Court Decisions
Case/Year/Court Decision
Everson v. Board of Education 1947 Government cannot provide aid to one religion, or all religions, but must be neutral toward religion.
Engle v. Vitale 1962 School-sponsored prayer or official recitation of prayers violated the Establishment Clause. Schools cannot write or choose a specific prayer and require all students to say it.
Abington v. Schempp 1963 If the study of the Bible and religion is presented objectively in a non-religious program of study, it is not unconstitutional.
Lemon v. Kurtzman 1971 Statutes regarding establishment of religion must have a legitimate secular purpose, neither advance or inhibit religion, and not foster excessive government entanglement.
Wisconsin v. Yoder 1972 Exempted Amish children from compulsory attendance past 8th grade, but made this exemption only for this unique group.
CPERL v. Nyquist 1973 The First Amendment does not forbid all mention of religion in public schools, just its purposeful promotion or inhibition.
Wilson v. Board of Ed. 1975 Use of religiously objectionable textbooks does not violate the establishment clause.
Breen v. Runkel 1985 Teachers cannot take actions that promote religion while performing their duties.
Mozert v. Hawkins Co. 1987 Use of religiously objectionable textbooks does not violate the free exercise clause.
Lee v. Weisman 1992 Graduation prayers are not permitted as long as public schools are involved insofar as this constitutes a “state action.”
The Equal Access Act of 1984 clarified that public secondary school students can meet as student prayer clubs during lunch or before and after school, as long as it is student-organized and does not involve teachers or outside organizers.
In 2003, the Bush administration clarified how these rulings affected school operations, explaining: “[T]eachers and other public school officials ... may not lead their classes in prayer, devotional readings from the Bible, or other religious activities, nor may school officials use their authority to attempt to persuade or compel students to participate in prayer or other religious activities.”
In response to this January announcement, Daniel Mach, who directs the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, stated: “Despite the president’s hype, there’s very little that’s new in today’s ‘school prayer’ guidance. Importantly, both the Bush guidance and the copycat document released today affirm a core constitutional protection: School officials are prohibited from imposing their faith on students.”
Since it is solidly established that there will be no school-sponsored prayer, the other strategy is to divert federal and state monies to religious schools. The U.S. Supreme Court has just heard the Espinoza v. MontanaDepartment of Revenue case. The Montana legislature created a program in 2015 to provide a tax credit to those who donate to scholarships for students to attend private schools. But the Montana Department of Revenue ruled against using the scholarships for religious schools. That was just appealed to the Supreme Court. Their ruling, due next June, could open a crack in the separation of church and state, and begin the diversion of funds from public to religious schools.
Advocates for blurring this separation should keep in mind that such actions would also open up public funding of Muslim schools, Hindu schools, etc.
John Richard Schrock has trained biology teachers for more than 30 years in Kansas. He also has lectured at 27 universities in 20 trips to China. He holds the distinction of “Faculty Emeritus” at Emporia State University.