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Persuasive Essay On Religion In Public Schools

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The boundaries of the First Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom to exercise religion and prohibits establishment of a national religion, have been continuously tested since the very creation of the amendment. A primary area of concern when discussing religious freedom involves incorporation in public school systems. When debating religion in schools, one can consider a hypothetical situation to aid in making a decision. For example, one could consider a public high school student who plans to give a graduation speech in which Jesus Christ is mentioned, and a school that reviews the speech and makes the student remove all of these mentions. One could ask the question, “Is this constitutional?” and consider past documents and court …show more content…

Vitale of 1962. Summarized, this case states that when any religious belief is given any form of support by the government, whether it be in terms of power, prestige, or financial support, indirectly pressures religious minorities to conform to the religious belief that is being supported. The school in the hypothetical situation is putting power behind the student’s belief in some way by allowing him to deliver the speech with the mentions of Jesus Christ. This court case could deem the actions of the hypothetical school constitutional, however just because the school does not censor the words of the student does not necessarily mean that they endorse it, a statement argued in court case Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens of 1990. Therefore, Engel v. Vitale only loosely refutes the decision that the actions of the school are not constitutional, but are outweighed by many other decisions in other court

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