God and Public Schools

Myths About the Separation of Church and State

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Myth:
God was expelled from the public schools in 1962.

Response:
According to this myth, God was kicked out of schools back in the 1960s - since then, every social ill has gotten worse and the reason for that can be found precisely at the moment when God was expelled. Consider this following passage from a Letter to the Editor:

perhaps it wasn't all the bungling of the FBI, the CIA and all the other alphabet-soup agencies that didn't prevent the 9-11 attack. Where was God, anyway, on that fateful day? In 1962, he was expelled from the public schools. Since then, we've sought to remove him from various government properties in the name of "religious freedom." Mary Ann S., Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/19/02

But is the premise really true - was God expelled from public schools? The decision which prohibited the state from sponsoring specific prayers in public schools was Engel v. Vitale, decided in 1962 by an 8-1 vote. The people who challenged the laws establishing such prayers were a mixture of believers and nonbelievers in New Hyde Park, New York.

The Supreme Court did not then, nor has it since, held that students cannot pray in school. Instead, the Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot have anything to do with prayer in schools. The government cannot tell students when to pray. The government cannot tell students what to pray. The government cannot tell students that they should pray. The government cannot tell students that prayer is better than no prayer.

One year later, the Supreme Court reached a decision on a related matter, the state sponsored Bible readings which occurred in many schools. The primary case was Abington School District v. Schempp, but consolidated along with it was another case, Murray v. Curlett.

Once again, the Supreme Court did not then, nor has it since, ruled that students may not read Bibles in schools. Instead, the Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot have anything to do with Bible readings. The government cannot tell students when to read Bibles. The government cannot tell students what parts of the Bible to read. The government cannot tell students that they should read their Bibles. The government cannot tell students that reading their Bibles is better than not reading their Bibles.

So, students have never lost their ability to pray or read Bibles while in school. Students have also not lost their ability to talk about their religious beliefs with others, so long as such discussion is not otherwise disruptive to classes and the school generally. "God" has not been expelled from public schools. If anything has been expelled, it would be government involvement with God - dictating to students what to believe about God, how to worship God, and what the nature of God is. This is an appropriate expulsion because those are inappropriate actions on the part of school administrators and state employees.