Religious Liberty in Public Schools - Essay Example

Religious Liberty in Public Schools al affiliation Introduction The practice of displaying work in class has been viewed by many as an effective teaching skill. It has many advantages, a major one being that it helps students appreciate the work done the others, thereby giving them an opportunity to learn from one another, and be able to improve on their own by correcting mistakes committed by others. The students also develop social skills as a result. As to the scope of this practice as regards religion, is a legal matter as shall be expounded.

Discussion The First Amendment provides for freedom of expression and freedom of religion, whereby the state should not intervene, in any sense, including enacting laws that interfere with, or limit these freedoms. It also makes it clear that the State and the church are two distinct entities (Haynes, 2007). This is an important legislation in America considering the rich diversity of races and religious creeds. It goes a long way in eliminating discrimination on the basis of religion in public places.

This is what informed the decision in Van Orden v Perry (2005), where the Supreme Court held that the Ten Commandment on the government monument at the Texas State Capitol violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The issue of religious expression in public places, especially in schools, is an area that has attracted a series of serious debates. Many of these matters always find their way in court. In the case of Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), the state of Pennsylvania required that ten verses should be read from the Holy Bible each morning in public schools each school day.

The majority of Supreme Court judges found this to contravene the First Amendment. Just as in the above-mentioned case, it would be wrong to display the student’s depiction of Jesus Christ in class as this would be going against the First Amendment as that would amount to leaning towards Christianity as opposed to the required neutrality in the public schools towards religion (Ackerman, 2001). Putting all these factors into consideration, it would therefore go against some student’s rights, as this is a captive audience, and can be easily swayed into believing something that is against their religious creed.

It is therefore important not to display that kind of work in class to protect the constitutional rights of the other students and avoid violating the First Amendment, which could have in itself dire consequences. As regards the grading of the student, it would be unfair to penalize the student because his hero is a religious figure. This particular student could have used Jesus not as a religious figure, but as a historical figure, an epic (Ackerman, 2001). Where a student seems to present an assignment that is religious based like in this case, the courts have held that if the assignment meets the requirements, then the student is still acting within his First Amendment right, and should not be penalized for the same as seen in Sherbert v Verner (1963), which provided the tests that can be used.

Conclusion In conclusion, it’s very important to draw the line between when one actually goes beyond thye requirements of the First Amendment and when one is still acting within the context of the constitutional right. References Abington School Dist. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203, 83 S. Ct. 1560, 10 L. Ed. 2d 844 (1963). Ackerman, D. M. (2001). Prayer and religion in the public schools. New York, NY: Novinka Books. Haynes, C. C. (2007). Finding common ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools.

Nashville, Tenn.: First Amendment Center. Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398, 83 S. Ct. 1790, 10 L. Ed. 2d 965 (1963). Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677, 125 S. Ct. 2854, 162 L. Ed. 2d 607 (2005).