Should Religion Be Taught In Schools

The first amendment states that citizens in America have the right to practice whatever religion they want, and the government cannot promote or discriminate any one religion. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. Some people think this means that even though the government cannot promote a religion, schools or government spaces should be able to acknowledge God. Public school teachers should have the right to teach about their religion because they have religious freedom. Separation of church and state is not included in the constitution. Other people think this means that government should not be involved with religion in any way, including having religious symbols or references to God in public spaces. Teachers shouldn’t be able to talk about religion because they are considered employees of the local government. Separation of church and state is in the constitution. Based on this example, the constitution doesn’t change with the times. Freedom of Religion is very important for many Americans, and there hasn’t been a need to change that. This issue was talked about very little at the constitutional convention. Religion is mentioned once in the Constitution at the end of the third clause in Article 6. It states: [No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States]. It was brought up more when making the Bill of Rights, because US citizens demanded religious freedom. One early issue involving religion is the State of Deseret. In 1848, Mexico surrendered an area of land to the United States, where Mormon pioneers had been settling. Leaders of the Mormon church asked the government for territorial rights to the land so they could make a state called “Deseret” (meaning honeybee). Because the government didn’t agree with Mormon beliefs, they refused. The government began to take their land and give it to other territories out of fear of the Mormon religion spreading. In the end they had a very small piece of land and that became the state of Utah. A court case when religion was brought up is West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette (1943). The West Virginia State Board of Education required all students to recite the pledge of allegiance. If a student refused, they could be expelled and their parents could even lose custody of them. A group of Jehovah’s Witnesses recognized the fact that this violated first amendment rights. Reciting the pledge of allegiance can conflict with someone’s religious beliefs against idol worship and graven images, and government officials cannot make people do that. The court agreed and the rule was taken away. In 1986, the Goldman vs. Weinberger case also had to do with religion. Goldman was an Orthodox Jew and a Rabbi, who also served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force. The Air Force had a regulation that no headgear could be worn indoors except for armed security police, so Goldman could not wear his yarmulke. The court decided that it was constitutional. The judge said that wearing religious apparel "would detract from the uniformity sought by dress regulations”, and Goldman was not allowed to wear the yarmulke. Edward vs. Aguillard in 1987 …show more content…
For example, presidential candidate Donald Trump said that if elected he would call for a temporary ban on all muslims entering the United States. Presidential candidate Marco Rubio has also suggested to shut down all mosques along with any place that “radicalizes and inspires attacks against the United States”. The government regulating visas based on religion would be unconstitutional, and shutting down mosques would violate freedom of religion because it prohibits Muslims from practicing their religion. Another example of how it comes up today is “the war on Christmas”. Things like christmas trees and nativity scenes are not being shown in public places so that religions that don’t celebrate christmas won’t be offended or left out, such as judaism, islam, or Jehovah’s Witnesses. Some people now say “happy holidays” or “season’s greetings” as opposed to “merry Christmas”. Other people, especially christians, have taken offense to this, saying these actions are discriminating the christian faith and trying to take away