54.035 - Religion and Public Education in the United States: An Interdisciplinary Symposium

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Finding the appropriate place for religious belief within public education is a perennial American dilemma. Our society is more religious, and more religiously diverse, than comparably wealthy nations; yet American law and social policy are rooted in deep and historically complex traditions of government neutrality toward religion. Contemporary school reform initiatives raise important new challenges and opportunities within those traditions. This symposium considers the place of religion in public education from multiple disciplines and theoretical orientations, including history, philosophy, social and political science, theology, and religious studies. We seek to understand how our diverse perspectives can enrich our understanding of perils and promise of contemporary reforms that seek to change the relationship between religion and our public schools.

Sub Unit

• Division F - Historical Inquiry in Education

Chair

• Benjamin J. Justice, Rutgers University

Papers

• Presenter A (Chair) - Benjamin J. Justice, Rutgers University

• Presenter B - Stephanie Mitchem, University of South Carolina - Columbia

• Presenter C - Harvey Siegel, University of Miami

• Presenter D - Adam Laats, Binghamton University - SUNY

• Presenter E - Colin MacLeod, University of Victoria

• Presenter F - Mark Chancey, Southern Methodist University

Discussant

• Benjamin J. Justice, Rutgers University