The Supreme Court and Religious Liberty in the Public Schools

Abstract

I oday one of the most challenging and controversial subjects in the area of church-state relations continues to be that of reli gion in public education. In addition to the widespread coverage given the subject by television and the popular press, numerous scholarly articles and books on religion and the schools have also been published.1 Although the ultimate issue addressed by this essay is likewise the relationship between religion and the public schools, the essay is not entitled Religion and the Public Schools but rather Religious Liberty in the Public Schools. The latter wording was chosen over the former because of two beliefs firmly held by the author. The first is that any proposed resolution of the issue concerning religion and the schools should be one that protects and enhances as much as possible the religious liberty of all the parties who have a stake in the resolu tion of the issue. The second belief is that the same issue has the