Religious Expression in Public Schools: A More Nuanced Understanding

• In Event: Religion and Public Education

Abstract

Recent Court cases have highlighted the free exercise clause, historically, the lesser employed of the two religion clauses in the 1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Media reports indicate an increased invocation of free exercise as justification to discriminate. This paper reports results from a national survey of public school teachers’ beliefs about their rights to religious expression in public schools. Results reveal that while teachers do believe they should have more freedom to exercise their religious beliefs in the public school, their views are far more nuanced. Examining these results may provide an important way forward as we navigate the often-tense relationship between religion and the public sphere in a pluralist democracy.

Authors

• Suzanne N. Rosenblith, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• William McCorkle, Clemson University

• Benjamin J. Bindewald, Oklahoma State University

• Laura Olson, Clemson University

• Daniel Frost, Clemson University