The First Amendment and State Bans on Teachers' Religious Garb

As Walker observes, the perennial contest between political secularism and religious liberty is hardly new, but seems to have hit a fevered pitch not just in the United States, but in Europe as well. The author astutely unpacks one controversial issue at the heart of that tension: the permissibility of a state to ban public school teachers from donning religious garb while they work. The focus of the author's study is a landmark statutory law passed in 1894 in Pennsylvania that did precisely that, and remains the only one of its kind unsuccessfully challenged in the U.S. [] The legal assessment focuses on the extent to which the Pennsylvania law potentially contradicts both the establishment of religion and the free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. The author finally concludes that the law is fundamentally indefensible on both counts. Among other reasons, it coercively suppresses the religious identities of public servants, and favors some faiths over others. [The author's] command of the germane material legal, historical, and even philosophical is simply extraordinary. More than a legal argument, the book is a sweeping account of the nature of public education within a liberal democracyits proper purposes and limitations. He also sensibly considers the broader international context, especially cases that have come before the European Court of Human Rights. The author's argument is a complex one, but written in the kind of accessible, jargon-free prose that should be digestible for even the layperson. A thorough, magisterial account of a timely and historically important legal debate. --Kirkus Reviews, Issue December 15, 2019 "Walker has opened up a topic that is of immediate interest todaynamely various bans in the U.S. and other countries on religious garb, especially the Muslim head coveringbut which he documents has a 125-year history in the United States. Taking the reader through this history and its intended targets, and building a solid foundation in understanding of law and religious liberty, Walker makes a clear and well-constructed argument for supporting the First Amendment through policy and legal frameworks in the schools." -- Susan L. Douglass, Education Outreach Consultant, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, USA "Walker's book is particularly urgent and timely, and is a welcome guide for legal scholars and education policymakers alike. While Walker addresses a specific matterreligious garb in public schoolsit raises a more profound, and perennial one: How do we adequately prepare the next generation to navigate pluralism and liberal democracy? Walker's argument is that laws against religious manifestations in schools diminish rather than enhance this preparation. Far from being indoctrinatory, he suggests, religious attire in the public schools represents an important reference point for students about what it means to live in a demographically and ideologically diverse community. His argument thus points beyond the narrow scope of the book's inquiry and toward the central dilemma of how democratic life ought to be organized and nurtured Would a clear Supreme Court ruling supporting teachers' religious garb in schools make a difference? It might. At the very least, it would offer an opportunity for legal scholars, education policymakers, parents, and activists, to engage in democratic deliberation about the relationship between exposure and indoctrination. Walker's book can prepare us for that conversation, as to my knowledge, his is the most extensive treatment of the subject to date." -- Ashley Rogers Berner, Associate Professor, Director of the Institute for Education Policy, Johns Hopkins University, Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 35, Issue 3, December 2020, pp. 515 - 518

Auteur

Rev. Dr. Nathan C. Walker is executive director of 1791 Delegates. He has studied law and religion at Harvard and Columbia universities, US.

Résumé
Examining the twelve-decade legal conflict of government bans on religious garb worn by teachers in U.S. public schools, this book provides comprehensive documentation and analysis of the historical origins and subsequent development of teachers' religious garb in relation to contemporary legal challenges within the UN and the EU.

Contenu

List of Tables

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Glossaries

Preface

Chapter I - The Problem and the Plan

Chapter II - How Did We Get Here

Chapter III - What are the Constitutional Standards?

Chapter IV - How Do We Proceed?

Chapter V - What are the Establishment Clause Arguments?

Chapter VI - What are the Free Exercise Clause Arguments?

Chapter VII - Discussion and Decision

Chapter VIII - What Have We Learned?

Case Abbreviations

Index