Religious speech in school: religion or speech?

My previous post discusses the tension between the Establishment Clause and the Free-Exercise Clause in the First Amendment.  In the school context, much of the tension centers on what public school educators can or cannot do.  But a couple of recent cases involving religious speech demonstrate that the tension exists for students as well. Unlike with [...]

An Amendment divided against itself

Oregon may be changing its laws regarding a teacher’s right to wear religious clothing in school. This got me thinking about the tension between two Clauses that deal with religion in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits federal and state governments from making laws “respecting an establishment of religion.” [...]

The God problem with the Pledge of Allegiance

Will Phillips refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance because the country did not guarantee “freedom and justice” for all. But inaccuracy is not the worst problem of the Pledge. Unconstitutionality is.

Religious schools and church-state relations

As is well known, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides, among other things, that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. This is usually understood to mean, in Jefferson’s words, that there should be a “wall of separation” between the church and the state. [...]