How School Law Scholars Teach about Religion in Public Schools: An Analysis of Graduate and Undergraduate Textbooks

Abstract

Through an examination of undergraduate and graduate school law textbooks, this article speaks to scholars' interpretations of the law regarding religion and public schools. The most widespread issues that authors covered included student prayer, holiday displays, the distribution of religious material, and curricular challenges. Contrary to the central hypothesis in this study, one group of scholars does not necessarily take a more “accomodationist” or “separationist” approach to teaching about religion and schools. Still, there were some differences between textbooks worth noting: Some of the textbooks included more in-depth examination of certain topics and some authors only highlighted certain lower court cases. These differences did not seem to indicate a strategic attempt to promote an “accomodationist” or “separationist” viewpoint. Indeed, this study is significant because the authors of school law textbooks have the potential to directly influence teachers' and principals' knowledge about this area of law.