The Impact of the Separation of Church and State on Education

The United States of America was founded on the basis of religious freedom. Its school systems were centered on religious education. Theology was weaved into every song, every thought, and every act of Americans. The idea and belief of God was everywhere. When the Separation of Church and State was put into place as a result of the First Amendment of the Constitution in 1791, the correlation between God and the good of humanity was suddenly obliterated.

The public education system felt the greatest impact from this change. God was slowly taken out of the classroom, sporting events, and graduation ceremonies. Yet over two hundred years after the law was established, there is still conflict and confusion about what the First Amendment implies. The entities of Church and State have not been fully separated and this has affected those in the teaching profession through curriculum, scheduling, and teacher-student relationships.

Religion: The Foundation of Education

The public education system in America was established so that children could obtain an education to not only learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also religion. Students learned how to read by reading the Bible as well as memorize various selections from it. The Massachusetts Act of 1647 was set into place to rule that the public schools were to teach Scripture-literate young men and women (Kauchak, 2005). Religion was the foundation where children would learn right from wrong and how to be good citizens.

The controversy over religion may have risen throughout the years in the primary schools, but that did not hinder the establishment of colleges that centralized on religion. All current Ivy League schools were once created as seminaries. Colleges like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton only trained students who were going to be missionaries or pastors. The main focus of these schools was teaching religion and training others to do the same.

The Separation of Church and State

The concept of the “Separation of Church and State” primarily comes from comments and correspondence by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison after the First Amendment to the Constitution was created. Jefferson discussed that there would no law establishing a religion or prohibiting one. This ideal would “build a wall of separation between Church and State.” Madison also often referred to a “total separation of the Church and State” (Separation of church and state, 2007).

The First Amendment pertains to freedom in the United States primarily focusing on freedom of religion as well as freedom of speech. These establishments of freedom have evolved into the Separation of Church and State conclusion as referred to by Jefferson and Madison. The First Amendment implies that true freedom occurs when people have the opportunity to obtain their own opinions and are not dictated what they can believe by the government.

The American education system is one of the main places of controversy for the Separation of Church and State. Almost 90% of children in the United States attend public school. These children are often exposed to beliefs and opinions of teachers and administration as well as all their classmates. Essentially, they do not have the freedom to avoid this exposure which makes the education system the primary target for “Separation” controversy.

Religion and Curriculum

The Separation of Church and State within the school systems has not been an easy task. Public education was grounded in religion so religious principles are weaved into every subject and throughout the majority of curriculum. The First Amendment may have been established over two hundred years ago, but today, teachers must still be careful about what they teach. They may be unaware that they are teaching religious principles because the tools have always been a staple to their curriculum.

American History classes are affected by religion because America was founded on Christian principles. World History classes are affected by countless religious principles. The most common example is the Holocaust in World War II. An entire religious group was martyred and tortured which erupted with the entire world involved in war. These important parts of history cannot simply be erased or eliminated from curriculum. Leaving out the important religious components would not be explaining the whole truth and their significance would be lost.

Religious principles are also spread throughout literature that has been taught in the classroom for decades. The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia are two series that are commonly used in the public classroom, but bothare allegories laced with symbols pertaining to the Gospel. These standard stories have the potential of being taken out of the school system, but are often overlooked because they are well-written, creative fantasies. It may be difficult to find a story without any hint of religion in it.

The most controversial religious issue within the school system takes place in the science classroom where there is a constant battle between evolution and creation or intelligent design. The infamous case that set this discussion into place was The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes 1920. Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution in his classroom based on readings from The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (Scopes Trial, 2007). He lost this case but the issue in the science classroom would never be the same.

The December Dilemma

There are some portions of the Church and State that are inseparable. One example is the December holiday season. The education system in the United States schedules their school years around holidays. National and state holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Columbus Day are exceptions to this situation, but the problem occurs when scheduling around holidays such as Christmas and Easter.

The schools choose to schedule around these Christian holidays because they are vastly celebrated throughout the United States. If the school system decided to have school on or near these days, many parents would not allow their students to attend. Controversy takes place because schools are apparently giving preference to these holidays rather than those of minorities. The “December Dilemma” poses the most conflict because this month contains not only Christmas but Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Schools do not know if they should simply continue to give vacation near Christmas time or compromise with the other holidays (Trotter, 2007).

Teacher-Student Relationships

The final issue that will be mentioned as a result of the Separation of Church and State is teacher-student relationships. Teachers must worry about what they can and cannot say in the classroom. Any implication of religious preference may lead to trouble if any students in their class are offended.

This “separation” may not have proved to be much of a hindrance to the classroom but there have been circumstances where teachers have taken advantage of their position and subjected classes to their beliefs. In the beginning of 2006, an engineering professor at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois, told his class that the Holocaust was a hoax and never happened (Korducki, 2006). His statement received national media coverage and the president of Northwestern had to issue a public apology claiming that the beliefs did not represent those of the university.

A couple months ago, another dilemma occurred when a public high school teacher in New Jersey continued to veer off into tangents during his lectures that pertained to his religious beliefs. The only reason he was exposed to the public was when a student tape-recorded him and brought it to officials (Boston, 38).

These are only two examples of teachers not abiding by the Separation of Church and State as commanded by the First Amendment. Teachers should avoid discussion on religion within the classroom. Americans do not often view accidental slips of religious implications as cause for violation of the amendment, but when teachers enforce their beliefs onto students, the line between Church and State is crossed.

The First Amendment was made to establish religious freedom in the United States. Stemming from this was the Separation of Church and State. This has impacted public education in countless ways and will continue to have an impact on curriculum, school year schedules, and teacher-student relationships.

References

Boston, R. (2007). Putting an end to “teacher-preachers” in public schools. The Humanist, 67(3), 38-39. Retrieved June 21, 2007, from ProQuest Religion database.

First amendment to the United States Constitution. (2007, June 18). Retrieved June 21, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=First_Amendment_to_the _United_States_Constitution&action;=history.

Kauchak, D. & Eggan, P. (2005). Introduction to teaching: Becoming a professional 2^nd edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Korducki, J. (2006, February 8). Northwestern professor denies holocaust. Northwestern News Network. Retrieved June 22, 2007, from http://www.nnntv.org/view story.php?story_id_key=769.

Scopes trial. (2007, June 22). Retrieved June 22, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/ index.php?title=Scopes_Trial&action;=history.

Separation of church and state. (2007, June 18). Retrieved June 21, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state.

Trotter, A. (2007, March). Consensus is sought on religion in schools. Education Week, 26(27), 5,16-17. Retrieved June 21, 2007, from Research Library database.