Separation of Church & State

1. Separation of Church & State By: Laura Haw, Kyle Hartwig, Kevin Leonard, Jake Rizkalla

2. Content Overview • Early History • Divine Rights • Galileo • Foundation of the United States • Puritans • Jefferson Bible • Education: • Public School • Home schooling • Evolution • Prayer in sports • Church’s Role within the Judicial Branch • Justices • Court decisions • Medical Policies & Religion • Pro-life / Pro-choice • Terri Schiavo • Gay Rites • Current Issues • Locally (Religious Observance Policy) • Ways to get Involved

3. Early History

4. Early History – Divine Rights • Divine Rights: • states that a “monarch owes his rule to the will of God, not to the will of his subjects, parliament, the aristocracy or any other competing authority”. • “Divine Rights of Kings,” Wikipedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Right_of_Kings>, 3 April 2007.

5. Published book Sidereus Nuncius in 1610. Some of Galileo’s findings contradicted the Bible. Feb 16th, 1616, Galileo presents his case to the Inquisition in Rome. Results included that he had to abandoned such opinions. Early History – Galileo

6. Early History - Puritans • Roger Williams, a Separatist, believed that church and state should be separate. • William founded his own colony, Providence in 1636. • It was founded on the belief that church and state should remain separate.

7. Early History • Jefferson Bible “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth” • Wanted to make the teaching of Jesus less supernatural. • Though it would be better to use only the worlds and teaching of Jesus himself. • Left out any mention of angels, genealogy, prophecy, miracles, the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus and resurrection.

8. Education

9. Education - Public Schools • 90% of American children attend public schools. • Has prayer been expelled from our schools, as some people claim? • Has bible reading been banned in public schools? • Do teachers need to avoid all mention of religion?

10. Education – Public Schools • 1962 Supreme Court Case () • Ruled official prayer had no place in public education. • Government sponsored worship. • Nothing in the 1962 ruling made it unlawful for students to read a bible during school hours. • High school religious clubs must be outside of hours. • Objective study about religion in public schools is legal and appropriate.

11. Education – Public Schools • Is it right to allow advertising for religion in public schools? • Should parents be pulling out a pamphlet on a Friday night from their sons or daughters backpack telling them about the Pagan religion? • Should we be worried that religious groups use a child's backpack as a outreach strategy?

12. Education – Public Schools • Doors Open For Pagan Proselytizing In Virginia Public School • “Have you ever wondered what ‘Holidays’ refers to?” • “Everyone knows about Christmas – but what else are people celebrating in December? Why do we celebrate the way we do?” • “An educational program for children of all ages (and their adults), where we’ll explore the traditions of December and their origins, followed by a Pagan ritual to celebrate Yule.”

13. Can high school students meet with religious intention? How constitutional is it to read a bible in class? What about religion in the class room, can teachers instruct about it? Education – Public Schools

14. Education – Public Schools • “No holding of this Court suggests that a school can persuade or compel a student to participate in a religious exercise…” • Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy

15. Education – Public Schools • Can students use religion in their reports and homework? • How far does religious freedom go with student presentations heard by the class?

16. Education – Public Schools • Should students be allowed to try to convince their peers about religious views? • What should faculty do about these debates? • Should public schools be able to celebrate religious holidays?

17. Education – Public Schools • Main Point of Interest: • Being neutral on religion is not the same as being hostile towards it.

18. Education – Prayer in Sports • Lee v. Weisman • This ruling made prayer in public schools unconstitutional.

19. Church’s Role in the Judicial Branch • Why you should be shocked with our Justices? • First Catholic majority in history. • 5/9 Justices are Catholic, compared to 25% of Americans. • 2/9 Justices are Jewish, while only 2% of Americans are Jewish.

20. Church’s Role in the Judicial Branch • There has been only one Justice who was not considered to be a member of any church. • Justice David Davis (1862-1877). • 1/108 total Justices.

21. Justices – Samuel Alito • Confirmed by the Senate with a 58 – 42 vote. • Voted with the majority in ACLU v. Schundler. • Held that government – sponsored holiday displays were permissible as long as they included both secular and religious symbols. • Held a dissenting opinion in C.H. v. Oliva et al.

23. Medical Policies & Religion – Terri Schiavo • Condition: • Brain damaged • Cardiac and respiratory arrest • Persistent vegetative state (PVS) • Parents v. Husband

24. Same - Sex Marriage and the Violation of Church and State • Should church and state interaction exist on the subject of marriage? • Does the purposed amendment violate the separation of church and state? • Should federal and state governments recognize marriages between gay couples?

25. Same - Sex Marriage and the Violation of Church and State • Does banning gay marriage infringe on religious rights? • Unitarian Universalist Association • Union for Reform Judaism • United Church of Christ • Would churches ever have to sanctify same-sex marriages?

26. Current Issues - Locally • Current revision of the Michigan State University’s Religious Observance Policy • Who does this effect? • Students / Professors

27. Current Issues - Locally • The Okemos Christian Center is in the process of trying to build a larger church. • Okemos District Court ruled. • Currently being appealed to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.