The Removal of Character Education from the Public Schools and America’s Moral Decline Since 1963

Abstract

This chapter examines how the US Supreme Court’s series of decisions in 1962 and 1963, declaring much religious expression unconstitutional, influenced American society. The author points out that the decisions nearly eliminated character education from the public schools because (1) this moral instruction previously had a definitively Judeo-Christian foundation and (2) school leaders were afraid to have their character instruction regarded as even the least bit religious, they retreated from including any vestige of a moral curriculum. The chapter notes that the removal of moral teaching from the public schools quickly became associated with a religious and moral decline in the nation as a whole. The author notes that it is challenging to ascertain how much of this decline resulted from the removal of vocal prayer and Bible readings from the school specifically and how much the moral decline influenced the Supreme Court decisions on this matter. The direction of causality is likely in both directions. Nevertheless, the removal of Bible reading and verbal prayer had a dramatic impact on the extent to which teachers addressed moral instruction. The author presents evidence that the removal of the Bible and character education was associated with a sudden and prolonged increase of nearly every measure of juvenile crime. The chapter then examines attempts to reintroduce character education and Bible literacy in a way that is constitutionally permissible. Finally, the author examines research on Bible literacy and character instruction in order to determine what the benefits might be.