First Amendment Center Publications

Resources

• Religious Liberty, Public Education, and the Future of American Democracy [PDF 75,786kb]
  Our nation urgently needs a reaffirmation of our shared commitment, as American citizens, to the guiding principles of the Religious Liberty clauses of the First Amendment to the Constitution. The rights and responsibilities of the Religious Liberty clauses provide the civic framework within which we are able to debate our differences, to understand one another, and to forge public policies that serve the common good in public education.
  
• Religious Liberty, Public Education, and the Future of American Democracy [PDF 56,617kb]
  La nación necesita urgentemente reafirmar nuestro compromiso, como ciudadanos estadounidenses, con los principios de la libertad religiosa estipulados en la Primera Enmienda a la Constitución. Los derechos y las responsabilidades enmarcados en las cláusulas de libertad religiosa proveen la estructura cívica dentro de la cual podemos discutir nuestras diferencias, entendernos los unos a otros y forjar normas de educación pública que sirvan el bien común.
  
• The Bible and Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide [PDF 127,956kb]
  Ending the confusion and conflict about the Bible and public schools would be good for public education and for our nation. But finding common ground will not e easy because Americans have been divided about this issue since the early days of the common school movement.
  
• Public Schools and Religious Communities [PDF 212,992kb]
  Public schools and religious institutions have different missions, but they share many of the same civic and moral values. Both are located in most neighborhoods, and each is committed within its own role to the well-being of children. By working together in ways that are permissible under the First Amendment, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court, schools and religious communities can do much to enhance the mission of public education.
  
• Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools [PDF 4,804,212kb]
  It has been seven years since the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center initially published Finding Common Ground, the landmark guide urging educators to begin taking religious liberty and teaching about religion seriously in public schools. This new and updated edition is designed to further assist school officials, parents and teachers in keeping pace with evolving law, changing trends and emerging challenges that touch on religious liberty and public education.
  
• Religious Liberty, Public Education, and the Future of American Democracy
  (Download from the First Amendment Center Website)
  
• The Bible and Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide
  (Download from the First Amendment Center Website)
  
• Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools
  (Download from the First Amendment Center Website)