There have been a number of endeavors to reach political consensus across different constituencies with regard to how public schools should deal with religion.  The ultimate goal is usually to distribute these conclusions to wider audiences as "consensus guidelines" and thereby make influential a particular interpretation.

Process.  Some religious, civic, and/or educational organizations may meet together and strive to reach agreement   Or, initiators will set forth a statement and seek to get others to "sign on."  Or, there may be blending of strategies.

Product.  A publication, typically in pamphlet form, with explanatory and supportive rationale.  It is made available to educators and the general public.  The guidelines may speak not only to how educators should go about teaching about religion, but also to the extent to which the groups support making religion a part of the school curriculum.  

Organizations that will endorse one set of guidelines for educators may not endorse a very similarly worded set of guidelines.  For a good example, compare two sets of guidelines (A and B) as to exactness of meaning in their wording.

Item A                        Item B

Both sets of guidelines (A and B) have been circulated widely.  B was published subsequent to A. At first glance, the two may appear to be the same.

What would underlie the reluctance of a group to endorse B
 that would quite willingly sign A?
If you are curious: click Discussion to compare closely the wording of the two.

ITEM A:  Guidelines from "Religion in the Public School Curriculum: Questions and Answers"

______________________

The above six guidelines were originally published by the Public Education Religion Studies Center at Wright State University. 

The pamphlet from which the guidelines and following "Q&A" portion was excerpted has been endorsed by seventeen organizations,  including these which have made materials available for teaching about religion in the public school curriculum: American Federation of Teachers; Americans United Research Foundation; Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; National Council on Religion and Public Education; and the National Council for the Social Studies. 

The pamphlet also provides answers to other questions, among them:
Q: Is it constitutional to teach about religion in public schools? (A: yes, with explanation provided)
Q: Why should study about religion be included in the public school curriculum?
Q: Where does study about religion belong in the curriculum?
Q: How does teaching about religion relate to the teaching of values?
Q: How should religious holidays be treated in the classroom? (and so on)

Return to Top

ITEM B:  Guidance from "A Teacher’s Guide to Religion in the Public Schools"

Another six guidelines for teaching about religion in public schools—all of which derive from the same source and are somewhat comparable to the original (bulleted) guidelines listed in Item A, above—were published in 1999 by the First Amendment Center. 

______________________

The six bulleted guidelines immediately above have been endorsed by the following organizations: American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Christian Educators Association International, Christian Legal Society, Council on Islamic Education, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Evangelicals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., National Council for the Social Studies, National Education Association, National PTA, National School Boards Association, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.

Comparing Guidelines: Discussion

Eleven of the organizations endorsing Item B are the same as those endorsing Item A, whereas ten are different.  It is important to discern that the wording in the six newer guidelines differs from their earlier representation, presumably to reflect general agreement among these particular concurring organizations that the school curriculum requires more teaching about religion than it now possesses.  This pamphlet has been widely distributed and remains more readily procurable than the previous consensus Q&A document (from which Item A was excerpted).  It also provides extensive discussion that supports a stronger encouragement to educators that religion be part of the school curriculum.

As Item B states (p.3), "In the social studies especially, the question is no longer "Should I teach about religion?" but rather "How should I do it?" Accordingly, there is considerable accretion of force to certain items.

Whereas the earlier agreed-upon guidelines clarified for educators what is constitutionally permissible (the school may…), this consensus more clearly venerates the concept of public schools teaching about religion. Some color highlighting and italics is provided to facilitate comparison of the two versions.

[Original wording: The school may strive for student awareness of religions, but should not press for student acceptance of any religion.]

[Original wording: The school may sponsor study about religion, but may not sponsor the practice of any religion.]

[Original wording: The school may expose students to a diversity of religious views, but may not impose, discourage, or encourage any particular view.]

[Original wording: The school may educate about all religions, but may not promote or denigrate any religion.]

[Original wording: The school may inform the student about various beliefs, but should not seek to conform him or her to any particular belief]

Last updated: 08/01/01