Chapter Three – Religion
One of the most interesting and also difficult to totally grasp is content related to religion and school law. Under the section entitled “Leadership Perspectives.” you are introduced to both the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. Most of us like concepts to stand alone and not cross over one another as it sure makes things easier. This is not the case in Chapter Three (Stotler. 2013). As the author quickly states following the definitions for the two clauses.
“The crux of the problem in balancing the two imperatives is this: Enforcing one clause often seems to violate the other. For example. in “Candy Canes.” the Free Exercise Clause clearly establishes the participating students’ right to religious expression. Built, at what point does their free exercise violate the Establishment Clause? It is this point. where one person’s Establishment Clause inhibits another person’s Free Exercise and vice versa that the seeds of controversy are sown. part of the problem is that legal scholars. federal judges. and U.S. Supreme Court justices often disagree on when to apply which clause in the context of the public school.” (Stader. 34-35)
The author goes on to state questions that illustrate the back and forth between how the action plays out between the two clauses. What we learn. and I’m going to say this is done over time. is that the various courts have provided us with what we use to understand how to react to numerous scenario situations as they relate to religion in the public-school setting. What you will learn is that much of this has to do with the age of the student. The section on “Discourse Ethics’ gives suggestions on how to use mediation to resolve such conflicts. The point I’m trying to make with this assignment is summed up with a concluding remark found on page 38 (Stader). Ile quotes I labermas (1990) as stating that “it is very difficult and often impossible to resolve conflicts of deeply held moral beliefs. ‘Candy Canes may be such a case.” This isn’t what students of school law want to hear as their comfort level increases when they know the answer that’s right every time. In this course, you will learn what I’ve said over and over to the many people I’ve taught this material over the years which is knowing the law is ease: knowing how to use it in the school setting is often hard.
Pages 39-55 of the Stader (2013) text address the history of religion and the public schools by looking specifically at a host of topics which include but not limited to:
• The US Supreme Court and Religion (review of 15 decisions) • Darwin’s Theon of Evolution
