Why Religion Should Be Kept Out of Sublic Schools

Jeff Perman English 093 – 10B Sept. 20, 2011 Argumentive Essay Introduction Why Religion Should Not Be Allowed In Public Schools The question of religion in public schools goes all the back to 1948, where a case in Champlain, Illinois was heard regarding a sectarian group that would go into schools 30 mins. a day to preach to students about religion. The court found it was unconstitutional due to the first Amendment (Mead, Green, and Oluwule). These practices still continue today with various religious groups taking stronger and more creative ways to infiltrate the public school systems of America. Another, more recent example of these tactics is that of a group of creationism advocates in Louisiana who took school science books†¦show more content†¦The third and toughest case, due to its historical and patriotic nature and the reference to god in its orientation are cases involving the Pledge of Allegiance. One such case took place in California where a teacher attempted to the use of the Pledge of Allegiance to push his view of religion to his students. He asked his students what significance Gods r ole was in the pledge and what his importance was. When parents complained to the school board that he should be teaching not preaching, he decided to take it to court. Backed by the A.D.F. (Alliance Defense Fund), their goal wasn’t to win but to give public schools a bad rap concerning religion and the schools non-tolerated view. They were hoping people would only hear half the story, â€Å"did you hear about that school somewhere that banned the Pledge of Allegiance?† This attempt failed and their case denied due to the Pledge of Allegiance’s standing on patriotcal and historical significances. (Declaration on Deceit: The Truth about the ADF’s attack on Public Schools) Some other facts that give credence to the difficult decision the courts must make on this issue is one case involving Elisha R. Potter of Rhode Island who was the Commissioner of public schools from 1850 thru 1854, stated that â€Å"The public school system is supported,