The 1st Amendment guarantees “the free exercise of religion,” but groups like the conservative Christian Coalition think the rights of believers have been curtailed so much that a new constitutional amendment is needed to reassert them. Included in the coalition’s proposed “Contract with the American Family,” the proposal is so vague that its precise impact is hard to judge. But it is clear that the measure would be either meaningless or dangerous.
The state of religious freedom in America is exceptionally healthy. The myth is that schoolchildren may not, as Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson claims, “pray and worship God without fear of persecution from school officials.” The reality is very different.
Students are free to pray individually or in groups as long as they don’t disrupt classes or other school functions. In recent years, Congress has passed a law requiring public schools to allow student religious groups access to facilities before or after school on the same basis as other organizations. Congress has also insisted that the government grant believers exemptions from laws that conflict with their religious obligations. Nearly all of what “religious equality” suggests is already part of the legal landscape, making an amendment superfluous.
The religious right, however, seems preoccupied with letting schools include prayer in graduation ceremonies, which a Supreme Court decision forbade, and with freeing the government to place religious symbols on public property. But the court was right to view graduation prayers mandated by authorities as a way of coercing students who are non-believers. And in some circumstances, displays on government grounds may include crosses or menorahs.
Reasonable people can disagree about whether the current policy falls short of perfection. But any arguable flaws hardly warrant altering the Constitution.
And the goals of the religious right go further. One version of the amendment, drafted by the Traditional Values Coalition, would apparently give public school teachers and administrators the right to proselytize students during school hours. It would also enshrine the right of governmental bodies to give “ceremonial acknowledgment” to particular religious beliefs–say, putting a cross on the courthouse or insisting on prayers at public events.
That approach overrides the wisdom of the 1st Amendment. The founders knew that religion is better off without either help or hindrance from government. It’s a lesson the proponents of a religious equality amendment would do well to learn.
