TakinÕ You to School:
Issues in Education from a Historical Perspective
AHTC
Summer Institute Lesson—2009
Marshall
Schacht
To download this lesson in PDF format, click here.
Part 2: Religion in
Education
Primary
Source:
Letter from E.E. Reichwald (Secretary of the
American Secular Union and Freethought Federation to
Francis G. Blair (Superintendent of Public Instruction); October 23, 1912; Illinois
State Archives, Springfield, IL
Description: This letter registers a complaint about the use of public
school buildings for religious services.
Also it includes the platform of the American Secular Union as it
emphasizes the importance and purposes of separation of church and state.
Prompts:
á
Focusing on the American Secular
Union platform:
o
Summarize the ÒNine Demands of
LiberalismÓ.
o
Which of the ÒNine Demands of
LiberalismÓ deal specifically with schools?
o
Why are schools an important issue
to the Secular Union?
o
Given the strict separation of
church and state (since established by the U.S. Supreme Court), have any of the
other Òdemands of LiberalismÓ been met?
Why or why not?
o
What message is the ÒcrestÓ of the
Secular Union attempting to convey?
o
Why does the Secular Union include
quotes from our founding fathers?
o
Our country was
founded by Christian groups. How have Christian values made a clear
imprint on our laws and society?
o
Would there be any potential
benefits if religious values were presented in schools? Do these outweigh the costs?
á
Focusing on the letter:
o
What specifically is E.E. Reichwald requesting?
o
Do you think that he already knows
what the law states on the issue at hand?
o
How are these schools violating the
law?
o
Why would communities use schools
for religious practices?
o
Why would the law prohibit the use
of schools in this way?
Enrichment:
Read the First Amendment
and discuss the purpose of both the Òfree
exercise clauseÓ and the Òestablishment
clauseÓ that pertain to religion.
Examine three Supreme Court cases and their
significance:
á
McCollum v. Champaign
Board of Education: Use of
school buildings for religion.
á
Lemon v. Kurtzman: Use
of public funds for religious education.
á
Engel v. Vitale: Prayer in public schools.
