POLITICAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SCHOOL AND THE CHURCH IN THE USA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/ped-uzhnu/2023-1-3Keywords:
church, school, USA, religion, court cases, state-church relationsAbstract
The religious factor is important in the USA. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantee and proclaim religious freedom throughout the country. The religious organizations are influential institutions. One of the most controversial issues in the field of statechurch relations in the USA is the regulation of state-church relations in the field of education, namely in schools. The United States Supreme Court and federal courts have consistently held that school-organized prayer during regular school hours and the reading of the Bible for religion purposes are unconstitutional. These issues have given rise to numerous court cases focusing on the relationship between church and state. Religious freedom has become the subject of constant legal disputes. Among which: Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962), Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577, 599 (1992), Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985), Elk Grove United School District v. Newdow, Epperson v. Arkansas, McCollum v. Board of Education, Zorach v. Clauson (1952), and others. The cases “Engel v. Vitale”, “Abington City School District v. Schempp” and “Lemon v. Kurtzman” are analyzed in the article. The statistical data of the Gallup research center is analyzed in the article. US law clearly demarcates the activities of the state and the church, and the church and the school. Church and school in the US should be separate. Teaching religion at school should be exclusively secular in nature. Teachers should not lead or organize prayers or other religious activities on school grounds. At the same time, students are free to express their religious preferences, but this should not be directed or organized by school staff. State-church relations in the field of school education are analyzed in the article. Peculiarities of activities and relations between the state and the church during the educational process have been investigated.
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