A group of parents at my school want the school district to make all students take a class on the Bible. They think that a lot of problems in public schools would be solved if students were taught traditional Christian values. My parents are fundamentalist Christians and they think that teaching me about religion is up to them and our church, not the school. My best friend is Jewish and her parents don’t want her to be forced to learn a different religion at school. Can the school district make us take a Bible class? No, it shouldn’t. Public schools can’t encourage or promote any religious beliefs as part of the curriculum. Obviously, a Bible class created to teach students Christian values would be promoting a government version of Christianity in a school attended by students who have many different Christian and non-Christian perspectives. Our social studies class is learning about religions from around the world. Some of our class readings are from the Torah, the Koran and the New Testament, but it’s not really like church. We’re just studying different religions. Is that okay? Yes, you can study about religion at school—for example, about its influence on history, literature and culture. But your readings and class time can’t be used to teach that one religion is better than another one or to insult any religion. Our school district has decided to hang a copy of the Ten Commandments in every classroom in the district. My teacher says they can do that because this doesn’t involve teaching us religion. The Ten Commandments would just be there on the wall if the students want to read them on their own. Is she right? No, she’s not right. The Ten Commandments can’t be posted in public schools. Again, schools can’t be in the business of teaching religion. This is true whether they teach you directly or indirectly by hanging a religious object, like the Ten Commandments or a picture of Jesus, on the wall. My biology teacher was going to teach evolution this year, but some parents who believe in creationism complained that evolution contradicts the Bible. The principal told her to take it off the lesson plan, but she doesn’t want to. Can the school force her not to teach evolution? No. Schools can’t write lesson plans to further one set of religious views over others. If the school forced your teacher not to teach evolution because it goes against the Bible’s story of creation, it would be favoring one religious belief—creationism—over others. It’s also unconstitutional to require that creationism be taught in science class along with evolution. Can my science teacher discuss “intelligent design” as an alternative to evolution? She claims that she simply wants to expose students to an alternative to evolution. No. In 2005, a judge ruled in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, an ACLU of Pennsylvania case, that intelligent design is a type of creationism and, therefore, cannot be taught in science class. It is not a “scientific” theory, but a religious one. A comparative religions class could discuss intelligent design as one of many different approaches to the origin of life. A social studies class could also talk about intelligent design as part of the history of the anti-evolution movement from the Scopes "monkey trial" to the present. What about this? Our school secretary helped us start a gospel choir at our high school. We sing at a lot of schools and churches. But then we got in trouble with the principal. He said that if we wanted to keep meeting at the school, the secretary couldn’t help us. He also said to change the name, so it doesn’t mention the school’s name. Can he do that?Yes, probably. Religious student groups that meet on school grounds after hours have to be student-led and can’t have school staff involved. If you sing only religious songs and pray as part of your activities, you are seen as a religious group and the school secretary shouldn’t be involved. In addition, you probably can’t be funded by the school or use its name, because that makes it look like the school is promoting religion. BUT, if your “gospel” choir really sings mostly secular (non-religious) songs, then the school can support the group and allow it to use the school’s name – but you probably can’t call it a “gospel” choir. My parents were very upset that our health class is learning about abortion because that goes against our religion. Do students have to take classes that conflict with their religion? No. You can get out of specific parts of health or science classes that conflict with your religious beliefs, if your parents ask the school board to let you out. My friend Steve and his parents didn’t like the fact that we are going to read Catcher in the Rye for English class. They think that the book is blasphemous. Steve’s parents could’ve just asked that Steve not go to class while the rest of us studied the book. Instead, they demanded that the school stop teaching it, period. Now people all over town are arguing about it and the school is trying to decide what to do. Can they stop all of us from reading Catcher in the Rye in school just because a few people have a religious objection to it? Probably not. While a student like Steve has the right to have his religious beliefs accommodated, that doesn’t mean he has the right to change the school’s curriculum for all the other students. If your school gives in to the demands of a religious group, it runs the risk of favoring religion over non-religion, or favoring one particular religious view.
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