Universität Vechta
Anglistik
Education in the United States

Religion in Public Schools

by:
Simone Hummert

2004

“…Schools do more than train children´s minds. They also help to nurture their souls by reinforcing the values they learn at home and in their communities. I believe that one of the best ways we can help out schools to do this is by supporting student´s rights to voluntarily practice their religious beliefs, including prayer in schools… For more than 200 years, the First Amendment has protected our relgious freedom and allowed many faiths to flourish in our work place and in our schools. Clearly understood and sensibly applied, it works.”
( President Clinton; May 30, 1998)

Contents

1. Introduction ... 1

2. Importance of religion ... 2
2.1 Religion in every day school-life ... 4
2.2 Religion as a subject  ... 6

3. Teaching Religion as a subject ... 7

4. Different approaches to teaching religion ... 9

5. Summary ... 10

6. Bibliography ... 11

1. Introduction

Religion in public schools is one of the most discussed issues in daily school life. The problem is that state and church are seperatet and noone is allowed in interfering in the authority of the other part. This essay deals with “Religion in Public Schools”. The differences between Germany and the United States should be compared and the different aspects will be described with the ulterior motive of religious freedom in both nations.

In the first part the importance of religion will be pointed out, in addition the aspect “religion in every day school life” and futhermore the topic of religion as a subject will be discussed. This part is in regard to the whole essay the more thoretical section. The second part shows the practical paragraph of teaching religion as a subject, different approaches to teaching religion and the difficulties with different religious beliefs of students. The settlement is a summary where the main points are being combined with my own ideas and thougths.

2. Importance of religion

In Germany, religion is an important subject in every day life and in school life. In the German Basic Constitutional Law, which is based on the Ten Commandments from the Christian religion, the importance of religion is shown. For example the religious freedom is implieded in both important and famous documents. Apart from that, church and state are seperated and have not any influence on each other.

In Germany the religious freedom was not a normal liberty in the history. While Friedrich II. der Große (1740-86) was king of Preußen he arranged the law of Religious liberty for every inhabitant in Preußen. This law belongs to the famous reforms of Friedrich II. Der Große.¹ Later in the days of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945 [suicide]) and his dictator-ship the German “Reich” attempted the „NS-Kirchpolitik“, but the Catholic church with the pope Pius XI., who held against this.² It was planned that Germany would get a uniform church, but this plan could not be realized. Altogether, the Religious Freedom was restricted, in particular for minorities, for example the Judaism.

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1 vgl. Kinder, Hermann / Hilgemann, Werner (1998): dtv-Atlas. Weltgeschichte. Band 1. Von den Anfängen bis zur Französischen Revolution. München: dtv. S. 287.

2 vgl. Kinder, Hermann / Hilgemann, Werner (1998): dtv-Atlas. Weltgeschichte. Band 2. Von der Französischen Revolution bis zur Gegenwart. München: dtv. S. 471f.