With the beginning of the Renaissance, humanity reaches civilization and turns to sciences, arts, aesthetics, and other scientific subjects. Scientists, philosophers, and writers have played a significant role in this. Scientists, through their research in new sciences, achieve new accomplishments. In this way, the Renaissance becomes a leap for the people of Europe to advance with their own revolutions and to bring down the power of other nations and also to isolate and seclude the Vatican and churches.

After churches gained power in the West and ruled for centuries, in the 18th century and with the Age of Enlightenment, human awareness gradually increased; science progressed and the whispers of public criticism of religion began. Over time, with the rise of capitalism and class struggle, criticism of religion became more public and widespread. Finally, as a result of the struggle of intellectuals, workers, and freedom-loving people, power was taken away from the churches and religion was forcibly confined to the private sphere.

Religion continued to be present in schools. But how did the separation of religion from politics lead to the separation of religion from schools? This article attempts to briefly examine the process, reasons, and methods of this event, particularly in the United States.

With the beginning of the 1940s, the activities of Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant groups in American schools reached their peak. However, in the late 1940s and subsequent decades, with protests and complaints from some parents of students, cases were formed in courts in various regions of America and the Supreme Court of the country issued rulings on them. Some of the most important of these cases include “McCullum v. Board of Education” in 1984, “Zorach v. Clauson” in 1952, “Engel v. Vitale” in 1962, “Abington School District v. Schempp” in 1963, “Epperson v. Arkansas” in 1968, “Stone v. Graham” in 1980, “Aguilar v. Felton” in 1997, and “Mitchell v. Helms” in 2000. Each of these cases will be briefly described

Mac Callum in front of the Ministry of Education (1984)

This file marked the beginning of the separation of religion from schools. Mrs. McCollum, who was an atheist, in her complaint about the violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (separation of church and state), cited two reasons for the illegality of religious activities in schools: first, that education in government schools, which is funded by taxpayers, is helping to build religious structures. Second, although these classes are not mandatory, attendees and absentees report to school officials that they are “captive audiences” for the religious teacher. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of Mrs. McCollum with 8 votes in favor and 1 against, declaring these classes illegal.

Zorach vs. Clazon (1952)

In this case, the Supreme Court of the United States reviewed a law that had been enacted by the state of New York. This law allowed students to be excused from school during class time for religious activities (with written approval from the relevant organization, such as a church). The school did not provide any financial or logistical support for these activities. The court ruled in favor of this law with six votes in favor and three against, and did not find it to be a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.

England vs. Vitali (1962)

The court ruled against a formal prayer to be recited in schools. This complaint was brought up by the families of Jewish students in public schools, stating that the use of the phrase “God Almighty” in the formal prayer conflicted with their beliefs. The complainants believed that reciting such a prayer at the beginning of school violated the first amendment of the constitution.

In the court statement read by Judge Hugo Black, the court’s decision was six in favor and one against the recitation of the prayer written by the government in schools, deeming it a violation of the constitution. One of the judges was absent due to a stroke and the other did not participate in the case. The court explained the importance of separation of church and state and considered the recitation of the prayer a religious obligation, which is a violation of the constitution to have it in schools.

Abington School in front of Shemp (1963)

The Supreme Court of the United States, in this case, issued a ruling in favor of the plaintiff, Edward Schipman, with eight affirmative votes and one dissenting vote, and deemed reading the Bible in schools a violation of the Constitution.

The Abington case, with Mr. Schipman’s complaint, began in a local court. He filed a lawsuit against the state of Pennsylvania for requiring schools to read at least ten verses from the Bible without explanation at the beginning of each school day. He argued that this state law violated his children’s rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution.

Epson vs. Arkansas (1968)

This file, unlike other files, was not about religion in schools, but rather about teaching human evolution in schools. The Supreme Court of the United States also considered teaching human evolution in schools, like religions, to be against the constitution. In this case and more than ten other cases between 1972 and 2005, the rulings of the Supreme Court prevented the teaching of both the “creation” and “evolution” theories of human in schools and deemed both to be a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Easton vs. Graham (1980)

The Supreme Court in this case determined that the installation of posters of the Ten Commandments on the walls of school classrooms, despite being privately funded, violates the First Amendment of the Constitution of Kentucky. The court stated that although these posters were purchased with private funds, their installation in public school classrooms constitutes a violation of the Constitution.

Augustine vs. Fulton (1997)

This case was a retrial of the Agular v. Felton case in 1985. In that case, the court ruled that public school teachers could not teach in religious private schools. However, in the case brought by Agostini, the Supreme Court ruled that as long as the subject matter taught by these teachers in religious schools is secular and impartial, it does not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. This case is significant because it demonstrates the evolution and development of judicial decisions regarding the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Mitchell vs. Holmes (2000)

In the mid-year of 2000, approximately 30% of the budget for sector 2 in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana was allocated to private religious schools. Taxpayers filed a lawsuit and deemed this action in conflict with the First Amendment of the Constitution. Lee Bootby, a representative of parents who opposed government aid to these schools in Louisiana, interpreted it as “our historical effort was based on the fact that taxpayers should not fund the budget of religious schools.” However, in a two-stage trial, this action was not considered a violation of the Constitution because these aids were used for non-religious purposes.

Nowadays, America is faced with two rival realities that are not necessarily incompatible. First, Americans speak of a secular era, as philosopher Charles Taylor writes in his book “A Secular Age”. This secularism is not the result of a cohesive religion or the beliefs and religious practices of individuals, but rather a product of modernity. Taylor describes it as follows: “The move from a society where belief in God is unchallenged and unproblematic, to one in which such belief is understood to be one option among others, and frequently not the easiest one to embrace.” Second, many religious scholars believe that America, after India, has the most religious diversity. What role can secularized schools play in educating students of a highly religious society that is also very diverse?

For further study, please refer to:

1. The American Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School.

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2. Kermit, Al Hall, Oxford Guide to the Supreme Court of the United States

3. Ali, Robert S., Constitution and Religion: The Most Important Cases of the Supreme Court of the United States Regarding Church and State, 1999.

4. Wasti, McCallum, a woman’s fight alone, the Institute of Religious Freedom, 1993.

5. Larson, Edward John, Trial and Error: American Conversations on Creation and Evolution, Oxford University Press, 2003.