For educators, the fall curriculum is a minefield of potential church-state conflicts: Should the kindergarten teacher talk about Halloween, even though evangelical Christians may object to this pagan holiday? Should the kids study the religious beliefs of the Pilgrims before Thanksgiving? Can the December concert include Christmas carols? Hanukkah music? A chant from Ramadan? Kwanza songs?

It may not be obvious to you why I am writing a column on this topic, but pastors, local clergy associations, and ecumenical organizations regularly get dragged into one ruckus or another that has to do with religion and public schools.

When the United States Supreme Court ruled in Abingdon v. Schempp in 1963 that it was unconstitutional for a state legislature to tell students to pray each morning, they did not “kick God out of the classroom” as some have argued. In fact, the Court ruled clearly that religion should be taught at appropriate places in the curriculum. Many educators still are not clear, though, four decades later, about what constitutes teaching about religion, which public schools are supposed to do, and teaching religion, which it is not constitutional for public schools to do. And some have been so afraid of offending anyone that they have bowdlerized the curriculum in ways that offend nearly everyone. Albert Shankar, the former president of the American Federation of Teachers, found text books that—and I am not making this up--defined the Pilgrims as “people who made long trips” and Christmas as a “warm time for special foods.”

I am not, by the grace of God, a lawyer, so nothing in this column should be taken as a definitive legal opinion. I have, though, followed the legal wrangling over this issue pretty closely, have taught young children myself, and have written on church-state education issues for Jewish, Catholic, Adventist, United Methodist and other publications, including several professional journals for educators. For whatever it is worth, here is my free advice on how to teach without trampling on the First Amendment:

It is right to study the role of religion in history or contemporary life, but wrong to ask students to participate in a religious ritual. Nearly all of us would like government to affirm what we believe and oppose what we reject, but this is asking way too much of government and way too little of ourselves. I defend the right of agnostics to not enter into prayer in school because I want agnostics to defend my right to practice my faith elsewhere. And, no, you won’t violate the Constitution if you point out that this principle, “Do onto others as you would have them do onto you,” is rooted in the Torah. You will be a better teacher, however, and are more likely to stay out of trouble, if you point out that this teaching is also found in Christianity, Islam, the Bahai Faith, and other religions.

Here are a few more guidelines:

• Religious symbols such as crosses, crèches and menorahs may be used in the classroom as teaching aids but not as decorations. While the courts have not yet ruled clearly on this question, it is unlikely that any teacher will get in trouble for putting up a pumpkin in October or a Christmas tree in December, since these are secular symbols in the eyes of most people. To pretend that a Menorah or a creche are secular signs of the season is both dishonest and ticks off a lot of people. I know—the Supreme Court has ruled that they are--but this still makes no sense to me.
• If student-created art is displayed, it is perfectly appropriate to put up work that includes religious symbols. Banning their work because it has religious content makes for both bad art and legal headaches.
• Public schools may teach about religious holidays but may not celebrate them—and should excuse students whose parents do not want them to learn about any particular holiday. Some Christian parents, for example, are so offended by the way Halloween, the eve of All Saints Day, has morphed into teaching kids songs about witches and warlocks that they’d prefer to keep their children home that day. While it is legal for schools to celebrate the secular aspects of religious holidays, watering down sacred tradition offends many of us.
• School assemblies and holiday concerts may include religious music as part of a secular program of instruction. Student participation in any such gathering should be voluntary. The tricky part is teaching about the music of the season without either promoting, leaving out, or disrespecting any faith community.
• Teachers and other staff should receive training on how to appropriately teach about religion without promoting any particular religious belief.
• Teachers and parents should be encouraged to learn about the faith traditions of their neighbors, which is exactly what the Multi-Faith Forum's "Building Bridges" program does.

Another clue for avoiding offense occurred to me during the recent legal skirmishes over posting the Ten Commandments in a court house. Long ago I saw a public display at an American Legion Post in North Dakota that traced the religious roots of the Bill of Rights. They took pains to get the history right, and to give credit wherever credit was due. As a result, no one had ever objected to it: people were glad to see their own traditions honored and interested to learn what other denominations and other faiths had contributed to our political heritage. I learned something there that has held me in good stead ever since: if you do your homework, get the facts right, and present material in a way that is both inclusive and educational, almost nobody will object to your talking about the Bible. If your December concert includes music from as many faith communities and ethnic groups as possible, if your school has already made all the students feel welcome there, if you have already covered Ramadan and Deepavali, no one will pitch a fit over the kids singing “Silent Night” and “The Dreidel Song.” They might even enjoy the show and learn something.

Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax,
Tom

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