Separation of church from US public schools

US education:  Separation of church and public schools

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) proved its value in preserving the integrity, tolerance and diversity of public education in the United States.  This week they learned that a Michigan school district was seeking a school superintendent with a “Christian religious perspective,” according to a report in Raw Story.

Some ask what harm can be done by teaching religion in schools?  The answers are multifaceted and believe it or not more complicated than thought.  The most obvious is that it has been illegal to teach religion in schools since the landmark case of McCollum v. Board of Education in 1948.  The US Supreme Court barred religious instruction in public schools. In another decision fifteen years later Abington v Schempp banned bible reading and recitation of the bible in public schools.

The watch dog group Freedom from Religion Foundation’s mission is to prevent religion in public schools because it is divisive, and religious differences create walls among students. The “walls” the foundation speaks of is intolerance and can even result in violence, which is why civil rights organizations are so important.

Apart from breaking the law and promoting student dissension, there is the issue on whether teachers can be trusted to be objective in teaching religion if it were allowed.  Freedom from Religion contends they are contacted all the time by complaints—numbering approximately 2,000 yearly--about violations of the separation of church and state—in this case public schools that receive federal funding.     

According to the foundation’s website, “We have to closely monitor our public schools to comply with more than 60 years of clear precedent barring prayer and devotional instruction in our public schools. We’ve recently had to complain in more than one state about kindergarteners being forced to pray by their teachers.”

In the recent case in Michigan, the district hired a consultant to advertise and do the hiring, but once the ACLU learned of the wording in the advertisement for the position, they wrote a letter protesting urging Rural Agricultural Schools to remove “a strong Christian background and philosophy,” reported MLive.

“Our Constitution wisely requires public schools to remain neutral in matters of religion,” wrote Dan Korobkin, legal director of the ACLU of Michigan. “When a school favors one religion over another, or religion over non-religion, students and teachers who do not subscribe to the favored religion are made to feel like they do not belong,” they said.

“We wonder how many excellent candidates who are Muslim, Jewish or not religious read the job description and decided not to apply because they believed they were not wanted,” Korobkin wrote.

The Michigan Leadership Institute for West Central Michigan responded to the letter and took responsibility for the job posting, which has been revised.

Scott Crosby, the consulting group’s regional director, admitted “poor judgment” on his part, but he insisted the religious reference was not intended to exclude anyone.  By what definition does the words “Christian religious perspective” not exclude those of other religions or philosophies?

---

 He then doubled down saying further that the ad reflected “close-knit and conservative” views, which to this writer’s perspective is even more reason for hiring practices to be monitored to protect civil rights of minority religious populations as well as atheists.

One could say the KuKluxKlan was “close-knit and conservative,” but that did not mitigate the horrific and violent nature of its members, nor the repugnance with which the larger American society viewed them. Being “close-knit and conservative” does not give a pass on civil liberties and human rights.

Publically funded education is not a place for school administrators or teachers to advance or proselytize children about their personal points of view on religion or politics, as young minds are still developing and vulnerable. Taking advantage of children as a captive audience to impose one’s personal philosophy is wrong.  The fact that a community could be perceived as “conservative” or even “liberal” for that matter has nothing to do with providing children non-prejudicial and non-judgmental educational principles that respect all people and belief systems.

Resources

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/michigan-school-district-seeks-chief-with-strong-christian-background-until-aclu-notices/

http://religionandpolitics.org/2014/01/07/the-dangers-of-religious-instruction-in-public-schools/