Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509150062
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The vast majority of Americans, however, will probably view as sensible and sound the recent federal guidelines, issued at President Clinton's request, regarding religious activities in public schools.
Mostly summarizing court rulings, the guidelines break no new ground. But they should help clear up confusion among educators, parents and students about what is permissible and what is not. And they could help diffuse the cultural wars sparked by zealots on both sides of the religion-in-schools debate.
They may also - it is to be hoped anyway - take the wind out of the sails of a proposed school-prayer constitutional amendment.
Such an amendment, advocated in the cause of protecting Americans' religious freedom, could do grave damage to that freedom by blurring long-established lines separating church and state. As the Clinton guidelines make clear, such an amendment isn't needed to ensure students' rights to reasonable expressions of a religious nature in public schools.
Indeed, an important result of the guidelines is to point out that students legally have more religious freedom than many schools now permit. Sent out to all public-school superintendents by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley, the guidelines reaffirm that a principal can't lead prayers or order a prayer time - but students can pray in school if they so choose.
Students may also read a Bible or other scriptures, discuss their religious views and participate in group prayers outside of the classroom - subject to the same rules of discipline that apply to other students' activities and speech. They can even attempt to persuade their peers on religious topics, provided their efforts stop short of harassment.
Students can distribute religious literature to schoolmates on the same terms they are permitted to distribute other literature that is unrelated to school subjects or school activities. They can express beliefs about religion in homework, artwork and other school assignments. They can display religious messages on clothing to whatever extent other types of messages on clothing are allowed.
These guidelines also make clear that schools can teach about religion, its history and its role in literature or in politics or civilization as long as it's taught in a neutral way.
What's not allowed, rightly so, is to give religious instruction or proselytize, to endorse any religious activity or doctrine, or to coerce participation in a religious activity. The constitutional prohibition against official prayer protects church as much as state against attempted religious conformity.
Riley stopped short of a hard-fast pronouncement on graduation prayers, though it's clear schools can't organize and initiate these. Otherwise, though, the guidelines seem to anticipate most situations in which religious expressions can cause disputes or misinterpretations of existing law and recent rulings. They're a good blueprint for schools to follow.
by CNB