Religious Observances In Public Schools

The ACLU-Vermont receives many calls from school administrators, teachers, and families with questions about whether certain religious observances or traditions are permissible in public schools.

The ACLU’s goal is to protect the rights of all students to hold the religious beliefs and values that they choose. A school, or any other public institution, may not impose specific beliefs and values on students or on others that it serves.

As public institutions, public schools must pay close attention to what courts have said is allowed in connection with religious holidays.

The ACLU supports the views of a wide range of church groups and religious liberty advocates put forth in the document “Religion in the Public Schools: A Joint Statement of Current Law.” The signers of the document range from the National Council of Churches to B’nai B’rith. The document can be found at numerous sites on the Web. It’s on the national ACLU site at http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLiberty.cfm?ID=9007&c=139

Referenced in this document is another helpful document, “Questions and Answers: Religious Holidays in The Public Schools.” This document is a chapter in a longer guide, “Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools,” published by the Freedom Forum. The “Q&A Religious Holidays” document can be found at http://www.freedomforum.org/publications/first/findingcommonground/B08.Holidays.pdf

A good Web site for general information on the First Amendment – the amendment protecting religious liberties, free speech, and other important rights -- is maintained by the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University . The section of the site dealing with religious holidays in schools is at http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/rel_liberty/publicschools/topic.aspx?topic=religious_holidays

The ACLU is often criticized for its work defending religious freedom. Critics charge we work to "take God out of schools" or "out of public places." We are committed to making sure the "establishment clause" as well as the "free expression" clause of the First Amendment are upheld. The "establishment clause" prohibits the government from endorsing religion. The "free expression clause" prohibits the government from infringing on citizens' right to the free exercise of the religion of their choice. You can read how the ACLU fights for individuals' religious freedom at the site, The ACLU Fights for Christians.

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