"...that Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion...". One's right to express their
religious denomination in a school setting is a right that is guarenteed.
Students have the right to pray in school on their
own. There is no law that states otherwise. What is not allowed
is group prayer initiated, sponsored or influenced by the school.
The school can be used by religious organizations
after school hours as well if the school allows other organizations
to use the school. So if the school allows stamp collectors to use
the facility, then they must let other groups use the facility too.
However, if the school does not allow any group
or organization to use the grounds, then the school reserves the
right to enforce their decision. This decision is up to the school.
A student may also be excused from school in order
to attend or participate in religious classes or holidays, as this
is not a violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
While there are many ways in which students are
allowed to express their religious beliefs, there is a fine line
that seperates what is religios and what is not that must be always
taken into consideration in the school envoirnment.
The law mandates that there must be a seperation
between church and state, that is to say, since public institutions
are set up to serve all the people,, there must be no special bias
given to one particular group.
Pertaining to the school envoirnment, there must
be an enuliberium for all students in order to promote an envoirnment
where learning is enjoyable.
Everyone has different viewpoints. The faith we
have does not leave us at the school gates.
|