Separation of Church & State & Education

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution commands that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." To achieve that goal, Thomas Jefferson argued for a "wall of separation between Church and State." Jefferson's phrase has become better known than the actual text of the Constitution, particularly since 1947, when the United States Supreme Court invoked Jefferson's "wall" as the ideal relationship for church and state (Tribe, 1988, pp. 1159-60). Though that phrase has always been more metaphorical than substantive, in many ways that "wall" remains the law of the land. This paper will examine the separation of church and state, from its intellectual underpinnings to the current status of the doctrine, with particular emphasis on educational issues.

The First Amendment was written at a time when the terms "state" and "church" were narrow and well defined in American society. Undeniably, the framers' foremost goal was to prohibit the establishment of a state religion, such as Lutheran Sweden, Anglican England, or Catholic Spain (Levy, 1988, p. 184). The establishment clause accomplished that aim.

The language of the establishment clause, however, goes beyond the mere prohibition of a state religion. Debate about the meaning of the clause began before ratification, but the discussion remained largely academic for most of American history. Not until the latter half of the twentieth century, after the D

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n the intrinsic merit of their beliefs and practices, much like the marketplace of commerce (Tribe, 1988, p. 1160). Separatism reflects Madison's view that non-entanglement was the only way to keep the church and state apart. This is a broad concept, not only keeping each out of the other's affairs but also preventing the state from deriving authority from religion (and vice versa). According to this view, not only is the state prohibited from designating an official religion, it also cannot give money to churches or involve itself in any religious activity (Tribe, 1988, pp. 1160-61). The Supreme Court, guided by those principles, has crafted a largely Madisonian policy with a Jeffersonian title ("wall of separation"). Certain state actions are clearly not permitted: (1) the state may not create an official church; (2) the state may not coerce or force a person to attend or stay away from a church; (3) the state may not punish a person for his or her beliefs; (4) the state may not prefer one religion over another; (5) the state may not participate in the affairs of religious organizations (Gunther, 1991, p. 1506). Beyond that, the state will not run afoul of the establishment clause so long as its actions have a secular purp

Category: Government - S