ongress from removing the right of the people to freely exercise any religion, or none at all. Although these two clauses of the 1st amendment right seem simple to understand and clear and direct in it’s meanings, there is no doubt that “the 1st amendment needs breathing space and room for interpretation, and statutes attempting to restrict or burden the exercise of First Amendment rights must be narrowly drawn (Herndon v. Lowry, 1937).” For example, even the most stringent protection of religious rights would not protect a teacher from sacrificing her students in the name of religion. Every case, whether it be as ridiculous as the one above or a situation that would be much more relevant to every day life is confronted with a question, “was the religious expression used in such circumstances or are they of a nature that creates a clear and present danger?” Congress has a right to prevent those instances that will bring about substantive evils. In the end the question is one of proximity and degree (Holmes, 1999). Since this amendment first appeared in December of 1791, there have been hundreds of court cases, ruling on the religious rights of students, teachers and other officials in public schools. These court cases with their extraordinary impact, have paved the way to the educational system we have today. Though schools were originally founded for the purpose of inculcating Judeo-Christian values, particularly to teach people how to read the scriptures, John Dewey, the so-called father of modern education, attempted to replace sectarian education and doctrine with a "religious faith that shall not be confined to sect, class, or race (Alley, 1996)." Over the years since John Dewey, public schools have become secularized. There is no doubt that public schools have changed dramatically. Because of these changes many people have the mistaken view that religion is forbidden on public campuses. A ...
