Garlon3A
2005-12-12 23:33:48 UTC
Here is the ADL's Guide to how schools should and should not celebrate
the Holidays. What balls they have to tell 90% of America how to behave.
The 'December Dilemma'
December Holiday Guidelines for Public Schools
Religion In America's Public Square: Crossing the Line?
by Abraham H. Foxman
Order ADL's new Religious Freedom Resource Kit
Every December, public school students, parents, teachers and
administrators face the difficult task of acknowledging the various
religious and secular holiday traditions celebrated during that time of
year. This pamphlet is designed to inform members of the public school
community about the current state of the law regarding constitutionally
permissible religious holiday observance in the public schools.
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion to all
Americans - including young schoolchildren - by prohibiting the government
from endorsing or promoting any particular religious point of view. This
prohibition has led courts to ban such plainly coercive religious activities
in public schools such as organized prayer and the teaching of creationism.
The law is less clear regarding the limits on holiday celebrations in public
schools, but a number of guidelines should be followed in order to adhere to
the requirements of the First Amendment.
Religion as an Educational Lesson
While there are appropriate educational benefits to teaching
about the diverse religious traditions and cultures of our country, school
officials must be sure they do not give students the impression that one set
of holidays or beliefs is more important or more acceptable than others.
Courts have stressed that "[r]eligion is a pervasive and
enduring human phenomenon which is an appropriate, if not desirable, subject
of secular study."1 In fact, "it might well be said that one's education is
not complete without a study of comparative religion or the history of
religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization."2
However, there is a critical difference between practicing
religion and teaching about religion. Most importantly, it is
constitutionally permissible for public schools to teach about religion but
unconstitutional for public schools to observe religious holidays or
practice religion.3 School officials and parents must be careful not to
cross the line between "the laudable educational goal of promoting a student's
knowledge of and appreciation for this nation's cultural and religious
diversity, and the impermissible endorsement of religion forbidden by the
Establishment Clause."4
The Supreme Court has not specifically ruled on issues related
to teaching about religious holidays in public schools, but its rulings in
other cases involving religious freedom and lower court rulings about
religious holidays in public schools are instructive regarding which
activities are permissible or impermissible.
The Supreme Court has said that religion may only be studied
when it is "presented objectively as part of a secular program of
education."5 Such study must have a distinctly nonreligious purpose.
For example, public school students in an English class may
study passages from the Bible to better understand a work of literature that
draws on Biblical sources. A course on American or European history might
also include an in-depth study of the role of religion in shaping important
historical events. It is important to remember that in any context, the
study of religion must not be coercive and must neither promote nor be
hostile towards religion.6
It is often appropriate to teach about the historical,
contemporary and cultural aspects of religious holidays. From these lessons,
young children often gain understanding and respect for the diverse cultures
and beliefs in our country. Appropriate lessons about religious holidays
could include discussions of the origins and meanings of holidays and how
and when they are celebrated.
However, teachers should make sure not to cover a single holiday
or religion, but instead to teach children about the holiday celebrations of
a number of different traditions.
For example, in any given year a number of holidays may occur in
December - Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Bill of Rights Day, and Bodhi Day
(a Buddhist celebration) - and may be appropriate for a lesson on various
celebrations held in the winter season.7 In this context, it is permissible
for teachers to display religious symbols, so long as they are used solely
as a teaching aid and are displayed temporarily as part of an educational
lesson.8
Holiday Assemblies and Other Public School Activities
The study of religious holidays may also include "more than mere
classroom instruction." 9 For instance, public performances or presentations
of music, literature and art are permissible, as long as they are "presented
objectively as part of a secular program of education."10 A permissible
purpose for such a program may be advancing students' knowledge of society's
cultural and religious heritage.11
However, religious music, literature, art or other religious
activities should not dominate school activities. These activities are
permissible only if they make up a small portion of a school-sponsored
event.
For instance, it may be permissible to have students act out a
play which contains one scene where a family is shown opening presents on
Christmas morning. However, school-sponsorship of a play about the birth of
Jesus would be impermissible because such performances are inherently
affirmations of a certain religious point of view.
School-sponsored activities should also focus on more than one
religion and religious holiday. Depicting a diversity of beliefs and customs
is important to teaching public school students about religion and culture.
It also helps to ensure that public schools remain neutral and do not
promote or denigrate any particular denomination or custom.
It is also important to provide students the opportunity to
choose not to participate in activities they find offensive to their
religious sensibilities.12 School administrators must be sure that students
have the option to make this choice and not be forced to participate out of
embarrassment or peer pressure.
Public School Students Performing Religious Music
School-sponsored singing of religious music poses slightly
different concerns because so much choral music is religious.13 Due to the
dominance of religious music in serious choral music and the legitimate
secular reasons for having public school students sing choral music, courts
have been more lenient about allowing public school choirs to sing religious
music.14
Additionally, forbidding choirs to sing any music that is
religious has been found to be hostile, not neutral, toward religion.15
Therefore, it is usually permissible to allow public school groups to sing
some religious music as part of a choral performance.
However, to avoid First Amendment violations, school choirs
should not sing only religious music and should not focus on a particular
holiday or denomination. Also, similar to school assemblies and other
activities, school officials should allow public school children to be
excused from singing religious music without fear of embarrassment or peer
pressure.
For instance, at a winter public school choral concert, it is
permissible to include some songs based on holidays such as Christmas or
Chanukah. However, it would not be appropriate for a public school choir to
perform a concert dominated by the songs of a single religious tradition.
It is also not appropriate for public schools to lead students
in singing prayers, just as it is improper for schools to lead students in
spoken prayer.16 Courts have found no distinction in singing versus speaking
prayers and have found that songs which "call on God for His blessing and
contain an avowal of divine faith" are not appropriate for public school
students to sing.17
Public school students may be allowed to perform at churches,
synagogues or temples because courts have recognized that these venues often
provide excellent acoustics and atmosphere for the singing of choral music.
However, a public school choir should not sing exclusively at religious
sites or only at venues of a particular denomination.
As with other public school activities that involve religion,
school officials and parents should consider the effects of teaching
religious music to impressionable young children.
Decorating Public School Classrooms and Grounds With Holiday
Symbols
Public school officials may decorate classrooms and other areas
of public schools to recognize certain holiday seasons. But they must be
careful not to send a message through these decorations that a certain
religion is endorsed or favored by the school.
The Supreme Court has never ruled specifically on holiday
displays in public schools, but its decisions on such displays on public
property, like parks and courthouses, are instructive in this area.
In the context of displays on public property, the Supreme Court
has ruled that a Christmas crèche standing alone is impermissible, but a
Christmas tree is permissible because it has become such a secular symbol of
the winter holiday season.18 It also has found that a Chanukah menorah is a
symbol with both secular and religious meanings, and its display on public
property within a predominantly secular display is permissible.19
Due to the impressionability of school children, the Supreme
Court has noted that a holiday display of a Chanukah menorah and secular
symbols such as a Christmas tree could raise additional constitutional
concerns.20 However, lower courts have not invalidated such displays and it's
likely that they are permissible.
Thus, the particular symbols used and the context of the display
are vitally important to determine whether the decorations are permissible.
As one court has put it, "The context in which a symbol appears is critical
because it may determine what viewers fairly understand to be the purpose of
the display, and may negate any message of endorsement that the religious
symbol might otherwise evoke."21
If schools choose to recognize holidays through decorations,
they should represent the diversity of the season and should avoid symbols
with patently religious meanings to avoid sending the message to students
that a religion or a particular denomination is preferred.22
Additionally, symbols depicting religious holidays are most
appropriate when accompanied by both secular objects and symbols from
holidays of other religions. This combination of faiths and of secular and
sacred helps to neutralize messages of favoritism and concerns about
religious coercion.
For instance, on a board filled during the winter months with
images of snowflakes, candles and evergreen trees, it might be appropriate
to add images of Santa Claus and even a Chanukah menorah because the overall
message is clearly a celebration of the season, not the promotion of a
religious point of view. However, a nativity scene, crucifix or other
undeniably religious symbols are not appropriate for a public school
display, especially when they are the only objects displayed.23
If a school wishes to recognize seasonal holidays, temporary
secular displays that recognize secular aspects of the season and perhaps
also holidays with a religious origin are the most appropriate and
permissible.24 If symbols that depict religious holidays are used, the
display should visually represent holidays of several religions and should
also include secular decorations of the season.
Conclusion
The December holidays present public schools with the challenge
of acknowledging the diverse religious beliefs of their students while
avoiding the kind of divisiveness that the constitutional mandate of
separation of church and state is designed to prevent. Teachers,
administrators and parents should try to promote greater understanding and
tolerance among students of different traditions by taking care to adhere to
the First Amendment's prohibition against school-sponsored endorsement or
promotion of religious beliefs of any kind. By following this great American
tradition, our public schools can best celebrate the religious freedom upon
which our nation was founded.
Endnotes
1 See Clever v. Cherry Hill Township Bd. of Educ., 838 F. Supp.
929, 939 (D. N.J. 1993).
2 See School Dist. of Abington Township, Pa. v. Schempp, 374
U.S. 203, 225 (1963).
3 See Abington, 374 U.S. at 225.
4 See Clever, 838 F. Supp. at 932.
5 See Abington, 374 U.S. at 225.
6 See Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97, 106-107 (1968); Altman
v. Bedford Central School Dist., 245 F.3d 49, 75-76 (2nd Cir. 2001). 7 See
Clever, 838 F. Supp. at 933-34, 939.
8 See Florey v. Sioux Falls School Dist. 49-5, 619 F. 2d 1311,
1317 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 97 (1980); Clever, 838 F. Supp. at
939-40.
9 See Florey, 619 F.2d at 1316. See also Illinois ex rel.
McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203, 477 (1948) (Jackson J.,
concurring).
10 See Abington, 374 U.S. at 225.
11 See Florey, 619 F.2d at 1316.
12 Id. at 1317.
13 See e.g., Doe v. Duncanville Indep. School Dist., 70 F.3d
402, 407 (5th Cir. 1995).
14 Id. at 407-08.
15 Id. at 407-08.
16 See Doe v. Aldine Indep. School Dist., 563 F. Supp. 883, 888
(S.D. Tex. 1982).
17 Id. at 885, 888.
18 See County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union,
492 U.S. 573, 602, 616 (1989).
19 Id. at 613-14, 618.
20 Id. at 629 (footnote No. 69).
21 See Clever, 838 F. Supp. at 937 (citing to Allegheny, 492
U.S. 573 (1989)).
22 See e.g., Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39 (1980); Washegesic v.
Bloomingdale Public Schools, 33 F.3d 679, 684 (6th Cir. 1994).
23 See Washegesic, 33 F.3d at 683-84. See also Allegheny, 492
U.S. at 598-99.
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end
the Holidays. What balls they have to tell 90% of America how to behave.
The 'December Dilemma'
December Holiday Guidelines for Public Schools
Religion In America's Public Square: Crossing the Line?
by Abraham H. Foxman
Order ADL's new Religious Freedom Resource Kit
Every December, public school students, parents, teachers and
administrators face the difficult task of acknowledging the various
religious and secular holiday traditions celebrated during that time of
year. This pamphlet is designed to inform members of the public school
community about the current state of the law regarding constitutionally
permissible religious holiday observance in the public schools.
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion to all
Americans - including young schoolchildren - by prohibiting the government
from endorsing or promoting any particular religious point of view. This
prohibition has led courts to ban such plainly coercive religious activities
in public schools such as organized prayer and the teaching of creationism.
The law is less clear regarding the limits on holiday celebrations in public
schools, but a number of guidelines should be followed in order to adhere to
the requirements of the First Amendment.
Religion as an Educational Lesson
While there are appropriate educational benefits to teaching
about the diverse religious traditions and cultures of our country, school
officials must be sure they do not give students the impression that one set
of holidays or beliefs is more important or more acceptable than others.
Courts have stressed that "[r]eligion is a pervasive and
enduring human phenomenon which is an appropriate, if not desirable, subject
of secular study."1 In fact, "it might well be said that one's education is
not complete without a study of comparative religion or the history of
religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization."2
However, there is a critical difference between practicing
religion and teaching about religion. Most importantly, it is
constitutionally permissible for public schools to teach about religion but
unconstitutional for public schools to observe religious holidays or
practice religion.3 School officials and parents must be careful not to
cross the line between "the laudable educational goal of promoting a student's
knowledge of and appreciation for this nation's cultural and religious
diversity, and the impermissible endorsement of religion forbidden by the
Establishment Clause."4
The Supreme Court has not specifically ruled on issues related
to teaching about religious holidays in public schools, but its rulings in
other cases involving religious freedom and lower court rulings about
religious holidays in public schools are instructive regarding which
activities are permissible or impermissible.
The Supreme Court has said that religion may only be studied
when it is "presented objectively as part of a secular program of
education."5 Such study must have a distinctly nonreligious purpose.
For example, public school students in an English class may
study passages from the Bible to better understand a work of literature that
draws on Biblical sources. A course on American or European history might
also include an in-depth study of the role of religion in shaping important
historical events. It is important to remember that in any context, the
study of religion must not be coercive and must neither promote nor be
hostile towards religion.6
It is often appropriate to teach about the historical,
contemporary and cultural aspects of religious holidays. From these lessons,
young children often gain understanding and respect for the diverse cultures
and beliefs in our country. Appropriate lessons about religious holidays
could include discussions of the origins and meanings of holidays and how
and when they are celebrated.
However, teachers should make sure not to cover a single holiday
or religion, but instead to teach children about the holiday celebrations of
a number of different traditions.
For example, in any given year a number of holidays may occur in
December - Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Bill of Rights Day, and Bodhi Day
(a Buddhist celebration) - and may be appropriate for a lesson on various
celebrations held in the winter season.7 In this context, it is permissible
for teachers to display religious symbols, so long as they are used solely
as a teaching aid and are displayed temporarily as part of an educational
lesson.8
Holiday Assemblies and Other Public School Activities
The study of religious holidays may also include "more than mere
classroom instruction." 9 For instance, public performances or presentations
of music, literature and art are permissible, as long as they are "presented
objectively as part of a secular program of education."10 A permissible
purpose for such a program may be advancing students' knowledge of society's
cultural and religious heritage.11
However, religious music, literature, art or other religious
activities should not dominate school activities. These activities are
permissible only if they make up a small portion of a school-sponsored
event.
For instance, it may be permissible to have students act out a
play which contains one scene where a family is shown opening presents on
Christmas morning. However, school-sponsorship of a play about the birth of
Jesus would be impermissible because such performances are inherently
affirmations of a certain religious point of view.
School-sponsored activities should also focus on more than one
religion and religious holiday. Depicting a diversity of beliefs and customs
is important to teaching public school students about religion and culture.
It also helps to ensure that public schools remain neutral and do not
promote or denigrate any particular denomination or custom.
It is also important to provide students the opportunity to
choose not to participate in activities they find offensive to their
religious sensibilities.12 School administrators must be sure that students
have the option to make this choice and not be forced to participate out of
embarrassment or peer pressure.
Public School Students Performing Religious Music
School-sponsored singing of religious music poses slightly
different concerns because so much choral music is religious.13 Due to the
dominance of religious music in serious choral music and the legitimate
secular reasons for having public school students sing choral music, courts
have been more lenient about allowing public school choirs to sing religious
music.14
Additionally, forbidding choirs to sing any music that is
religious has been found to be hostile, not neutral, toward religion.15
Therefore, it is usually permissible to allow public school groups to sing
some religious music as part of a choral performance.
However, to avoid First Amendment violations, school choirs
should not sing only religious music and should not focus on a particular
holiday or denomination. Also, similar to school assemblies and other
activities, school officials should allow public school children to be
excused from singing religious music without fear of embarrassment or peer
pressure.
For instance, at a winter public school choral concert, it is
permissible to include some songs based on holidays such as Christmas or
Chanukah. However, it would not be appropriate for a public school choir to
perform a concert dominated by the songs of a single religious tradition.
It is also not appropriate for public schools to lead students
in singing prayers, just as it is improper for schools to lead students in
spoken prayer.16 Courts have found no distinction in singing versus speaking
prayers and have found that songs which "call on God for His blessing and
contain an avowal of divine faith" are not appropriate for public school
students to sing.17
Public school students may be allowed to perform at churches,
synagogues or temples because courts have recognized that these venues often
provide excellent acoustics and atmosphere for the singing of choral music.
However, a public school choir should not sing exclusively at religious
sites or only at venues of a particular denomination.
As with other public school activities that involve religion,
school officials and parents should consider the effects of teaching
religious music to impressionable young children.
Decorating Public School Classrooms and Grounds With Holiday
Symbols
Public school officials may decorate classrooms and other areas
of public schools to recognize certain holiday seasons. But they must be
careful not to send a message through these decorations that a certain
religion is endorsed or favored by the school.
The Supreme Court has never ruled specifically on holiday
displays in public schools, but its decisions on such displays on public
property, like parks and courthouses, are instructive in this area.
In the context of displays on public property, the Supreme Court
has ruled that a Christmas crèche standing alone is impermissible, but a
Christmas tree is permissible because it has become such a secular symbol of
the winter holiday season.18 It also has found that a Chanukah menorah is a
symbol with both secular and religious meanings, and its display on public
property within a predominantly secular display is permissible.19
Due to the impressionability of school children, the Supreme
Court has noted that a holiday display of a Chanukah menorah and secular
symbols such as a Christmas tree could raise additional constitutional
concerns.20 However, lower courts have not invalidated such displays and it's
likely that they are permissible.
Thus, the particular symbols used and the context of the display
are vitally important to determine whether the decorations are permissible.
As one court has put it, "The context in which a symbol appears is critical
because it may determine what viewers fairly understand to be the purpose of
the display, and may negate any message of endorsement that the religious
symbol might otherwise evoke."21
If schools choose to recognize holidays through decorations,
they should represent the diversity of the season and should avoid symbols
with patently religious meanings to avoid sending the message to students
that a religion or a particular denomination is preferred.22
Additionally, symbols depicting religious holidays are most
appropriate when accompanied by both secular objects and symbols from
holidays of other religions. This combination of faiths and of secular and
sacred helps to neutralize messages of favoritism and concerns about
religious coercion.
For instance, on a board filled during the winter months with
images of snowflakes, candles and evergreen trees, it might be appropriate
to add images of Santa Claus and even a Chanukah menorah because the overall
message is clearly a celebration of the season, not the promotion of a
religious point of view. However, a nativity scene, crucifix or other
undeniably religious symbols are not appropriate for a public school
display, especially when they are the only objects displayed.23
If a school wishes to recognize seasonal holidays, temporary
secular displays that recognize secular aspects of the season and perhaps
also holidays with a religious origin are the most appropriate and
permissible.24 If symbols that depict religious holidays are used, the
display should visually represent holidays of several religions and should
also include secular decorations of the season.
Conclusion
The December holidays present public schools with the challenge
of acknowledging the diverse religious beliefs of their students while
avoiding the kind of divisiveness that the constitutional mandate of
separation of church and state is designed to prevent. Teachers,
administrators and parents should try to promote greater understanding and
tolerance among students of different traditions by taking care to adhere to
the First Amendment's prohibition against school-sponsored endorsement or
promotion of religious beliefs of any kind. By following this great American
tradition, our public schools can best celebrate the religious freedom upon
which our nation was founded.
Endnotes
1 See Clever v. Cherry Hill Township Bd. of Educ., 838 F. Supp.
929, 939 (D. N.J. 1993).
2 See School Dist. of Abington Township, Pa. v. Schempp, 374
U.S. 203, 225 (1963).
3 See Abington, 374 U.S. at 225.
4 See Clever, 838 F. Supp. at 932.
5 See Abington, 374 U.S. at 225.
6 See Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97, 106-107 (1968); Altman
v. Bedford Central School Dist., 245 F.3d 49, 75-76 (2nd Cir. 2001). 7 See
Clever, 838 F. Supp. at 933-34, 939.
8 See Florey v. Sioux Falls School Dist. 49-5, 619 F. 2d 1311,
1317 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 97 (1980); Clever, 838 F. Supp. at
939-40.
9 See Florey, 619 F.2d at 1316. See also Illinois ex rel.
McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203, 477 (1948) (Jackson J.,
concurring).
10 See Abington, 374 U.S. at 225.
11 See Florey, 619 F.2d at 1316.
12 Id. at 1317.
13 See e.g., Doe v. Duncanville Indep. School Dist., 70 F.3d
402, 407 (5th Cir. 1995).
14 Id. at 407-08.
15 Id. at 407-08.
16 See Doe v. Aldine Indep. School Dist., 563 F. Supp. 883, 888
(S.D. Tex. 1982).
17 Id. at 885, 888.
18 See County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union,
492 U.S. 573, 602, 616 (1989).
19 Id. at 613-14, 618.
20 Id. at 629 (footnote No. 69).
21 See Clever, 838 F. Supp. at 937 (citing to Allegheny, 492
U.S. 573 (1989)).
22 See e.g., Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39 (1980); Washegesic v.
Bloomingdale Public Schools, 33 F.3d 679, 684 (6th Cir. 1994).
23 See Washegesic, 33 F.3d at 683-84. See also Allegheny, 492
U.S. at 598-99.
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