Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 24, 1993 TAG: 9303240313
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: THOMAS C. HUNT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
THERE'S ROOM FOR BOTH TOLERANCE, RELIGION IN SCHOOLS
THE CONTROVERSY over the names of holidays in Montgomery County schools is not the only conflict over religion these schools have had in recent times.Less than two decades ago, in June 1976, a rift over religion and the schools resulted in the School Board's adoption of guidelines entitled "Teaching About Religion."
These controversies tell us the critical place religion has in our society in general and in our schools in particular. They also should indicate that we need to address these concerns in a constructive manner equitable to all citizens, regardless of their numbers or power.
Perhaps a history of religion in the schools will help us deal with what has become a source of friction.
The place of religion in schools has evolved according to the culture of the place and time. In Puritan Massachusetts in the 17th century, the "New England Primer" taught the youth in that theocratic society as follows: "A - In Adam's fall, we sinned all. B - Heaven to find, the Bible mind . . . "
There was little dissent from this way of teaching the alphabet at first. However, societies do evolve. Massachusetts, responding to pressures brought about by societal evolution, disestablished the Congregational Church in 1833.
The Bill of Rights, enacted in part to curb the power of the federal government and to protect the rights of minorities, addressed religion in the First Amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Horace Mann, the "Father of the American Common School," was appointed to the post of secretary of the state board of education in Massachusetts in 1837. Mann sought to keep religion in the schools, but without sectarianism, which he deemed socially divisive.
He advocated "common-core Christianity," featuring the reading of the King James version of the Bible. Mann thus attempted to have religion and morality in the schools of an increasingly heterogeneous society.
By and large, the Protestant center accepted Mann's compromise. However, it was unacceptable to most Catholics, also Christians, and for good reason. Educational historians and Protestant scholars, as well as Catholic leaders, have testified to the anti-Catholic bias that abounded in the public schools.
Comprising about 1 percent of the population at the time of the Revolution, Catholics grew tremendously in number due to immigration in the 19th century. As they increased in number, Catholics sought to establish their own schools.
Space does not permit treatment of the controversies that swirled around religion and ethnicity as they affected schooling in the latter stage of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Most of the conflicts took place in the Midwest, New England or middle states, where the immigrants settled. The South was relatively unaffected.
It is for this reason the cumulative impact of the Engel decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1962, which outlawed school-sponsored prayer, and the Schempp decision the following year, which ruled unconstitutional devotional Bible-reading in the public schools, caused such a reaction in the relatively culturally homogeneous (for whites) schools of the South.
While many are aware of this portion of the court's decision in 1963, relatively few are cognizant of Justice Tom Clark's call for courses to be taught about religion in public schools. Paying tribute to the role religion had played in western culture, he argued for these courses, including the study of the Bible "for its literary and historic qualities" as "consistent with the First Amendment," when "presented objectively."
Unfortunately, Clark's recommendation, though endorsed by the American Association of School Administrators, has gone largely unheeded.
In recent years we have witnessed the advent of cultural pluralism in society and of multicultural education in schools.
Religious pluralism certainly merits inclusion in these movements. However, cultural pluralism and multicultural education demand the recognition of and respect for the beliefs of others, no matter the number and power of their holders.
Society in Montgomery County has changed, as it once did in Massachusetts. The public schools belong to ALL of the citizens. It is time for us to learn from the past and avoid internecine religious struggles.
It is time for all of us to heed the words of that respected citizen of the county, the Rev. Al Payne, who wrote in 1981 on the topic "Morality in Public Schools" that it is time that "intelligent people of good will . . . sit down and work out a fair proposal so we can get on with the vital job of bringing up future generations."
It is time for us to follow the guidelines adopted by the School Board in 1976, which are still in place, and which read in part:
"The Montgomery County School Division will remain impartial with regard to religion. However, the school division considers spiritual values to be important in the development of a well-rounded individual and considers such development an encompassing goal of the division's educational programs and activities.
"1. The students, faculty, and administration are reminded of the pluralism of religious beliefs: What is important and meaningful to some may be offensive and repugnant to others. Each person is reminded to be conscious of and respect the sensitivities of others."
Thomas C. Hunt of Blacksburg has written or edited six books on religion and education and has written for numerous religious publications.