Discusses the issue of school prayer and explains why prayer in any organized, public, and ongoing form is unworkable in what the author views as a post-Christian nation. The article also explores the insufficiency of the 1984 Equal Access Act that requires schools to grant religious student groups the same privileges as nonreligious groups. (GR)

The purpose of the research was to provide practitioners in the public schools with an empirical basis for their efforts to find the proper place of religious ritual and instruction in the school setting. This paper analyzes two Supreme Court decisions regarding prayer and Bible reading in the public schools: (1) "Engel v. Vitale"; and…

This publication offers a brief review of religion and school issues that emerged in U.S. courts in 1999. Included are prayer in public schools; teacher's free exercise rights limited by establishment clause; impermissible student lessons and activities; teaching of evolution/creation science; volunteer clergy counselors in the schools; aid to…

Discusses court decisions on the rights of religious groups to rent public school facilities and to distribute religious literature on public school grounds. Compares decisions and reasoning in U.S. appellate courts and the Supreme Court. Predicts that the relationship between religion and public education will continue to evolve. (DK)

This anthology is one of four collections of background readings on church-state issues that comprise "Church, State and the First Amendment: A North Carolina Dialogue." These anthologies are designed to provide primary materials through which North Carolinians can better understand the religion clause of the First Amendment. Volume 4 of…

Senate Joint Resolution 2 calls for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to allow voluntary silent prayer or reflection in public schools. The hearing report consists of testimony on the proposed legislation by expert witnesses, prepared statements by various individuals and organizations, and newspaper article reprints and Supreme Court opinions…

The common ground approach to religion in public schools includes government neutrality toward religion and provides an equitable civic framework for all groups. Schools are legally obligated to accommodate students' religious needs whenever possible. This article presents guidelines about what teachers and students can and cannot do in certain…

Contends that all of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices in 1947 agreed that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment erected a wall of separation between church and state. Reviews Establishment Clause history, includes summaries of court opinions, and concludes that a more thorough curriculum about the wall of separation is needed. (CFR)

Presents a secondary school lesson to study the Supreme Court's interpretations of the Establishment Clause, explore why some Justices want to reconsider the separation of church and state, and make decisions about the constitutionality of school prayer. Includes seven student handouts and step-by-step instructional procedures. (CFR)

Placing the debate in the United States over amending the Constitution to permit state-sanctioned school prayer in global perspective, this report analyzes the results of a survey of the school prayer policies of 72 countries. The report concludes that the vast majority of the major countries of the world, including Western Europe, Central…

Articles written primarily by practicing school attorneys who represent public school clients are compiled in this publication. Information about how the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First and the Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution affect curriculum, student programs and activities, teacher employment, and school…