Religion Goes Back to School: Religion and Public Schools in the Twenty-First Century

• In Event: 50268 - Religion and Nationalism

Abstract

This paper explores conflicts over religion in public schools as a battleground where competing visions of American history, citizenship, and belonging collide. While some believed that the culture wars over religion in public education had faded by the late 20th century, tensions persisted beneath the surface and have recently resurged with renewed intensity. This paper examines how state and local officials are advancing policies aimed at expanding religious influence into public schools. Data include legislative debates, actions by state and local education officials, and public responses to these policies, including legal challenges and grassroots mobilization. My analysis reveals a significant shift in church-state dynamics. Earlier disputes over religion in public education centered on personal piety and salvation (through the 1950s), fostering civic consensus (mid-20th century), or defending the rights of a purportedly persecuted Christian minority (into the early 21st century). Today the battle is characterized by a form of muscular Christianity—assertive in tone, bold in its political aims, and underpinned by aggressive logics, tactics, and strategies. This movement, in turn, serves as a proxy for a broader anti-democratic agenda that leverages religious nationalism and nativism to advance a specific vision of religious America.

Author

• Orit Avishai, Fordham University