This class, filled with giddy grade-school children, begins like any other–with the Pledge of Allegiance.
But after these students make their pledge to the flag, they follow it with another: “We pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s holy word.”
This is not a Sunday school. It is an after-school program at Troy-Shorewood Elementary School in Shorewood. And the classroom is not devoted to the usual school subjects. It is a meeting ground for the Good News Clubs, non-denominational religious clubs in which students hear Bible stories, study the Ten Commandments and memorize Scripture.
Over the last two years, 10 such clubs have sprouted in public elementary schools in Will County. They are run by volunteers with Child Evangelism Fellowship, a 50-year-old evangelical Christian organization created to minister to young children.
This is not quite what presidential hopeful Pat Buchanan was talking about when he said religion should be taught in public school biology classes. But what is happening in these public schools is within the boundaries of the laws that separate church and state. And despite the often uncomfortable relationship that can exist between schools and religion, so far, there is no outcry of protest in Will County.
“A lot of Christians don’t realize this opportunity is here,” said Lynne Casserilla of Joliet, who runs the after-school religious program at Troy-Shorewood.
Lawsuits have been filed in other school districts in other states where school officials have tried to prevent student religious clubs from meeting in public schools.
“A lot of (school officials) believed that private religious expression by private citizens on public property was somehow illegal,” said Mobile, Ala., lawyer Stuart J. Roth, with the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative legal rights group.
From 1990 to 1994, that group, founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, handled about 500 cases against school districts that tried to stop student religious clubs from meeting in public schools. Over the last year, the number of cases has declined, as school districts have become more familiar with federal laws on this issue.
At the request of President Clinton, the U.S. Department of Education sent to school districts across America a statement of principles clarifying the role religion can play in the schools. Student religious clubs that are not school-sponsored have the same rights to meet in public schools as any other outside organization, such as the Boy Scouts, according to the guidelines based on the Equal Access Act, court rulings and the First Amendment.
What makes the Will County clubs somewhat different than most other Bible clubs is that they cater to a younger audience, ages 5 to 12, which raises concerns for those on the opposite side of the issue.
“Children at that age aren’t organizing or running the clubs,” said Joseph Conn, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State in Washington. “High school kids are older and can make up their mind to join a French club, a chess club or a Bible club.”
Said Casserilla: “We’re not just going in and taking children out of the hallways and filling them with our ideas.”
Parents must sign a permission slip for their children to attend the club. And the school districts cannot promote the clubs.
Howard Butters, principal at McDonald School in Manhattan, where a Good News Club is in its 18th year, said his school district is following the law.
“(We) can grant permission for religious groups, literary groups or any other organization to meet after school hours,” he said.
There have been no complaints from community leaders or parents about the Good News Clubs in Will County. A few local school board members send their children to them.
“If you’re going to teach kids about (the dangers) of drugs and AIDS, you need to teach them about all of the world. And religion is a big part of the world,” said Jan Wierenga of Joliet, a club volunteer at Troy-Shorewood, who sends her two children, Marsha and David, to the program. Her husband, Frank, is on the local school board.
The Wierengas believe the religious instruction helps shape values for the children and should not be viewed as problematic in its proper context in the schools.
Dr. Stephen A. Schmidt, a professor at the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University in Chicago, agreed. “In reality, the history of American public education is one of close cooperation between religion and education, particularly around issues of values and the public formation of social ideals,” he said.
Originally, the Good News Clubs met in neighborhood homes after school, and the club in Manhattan was one of the few in local public schools. As Casserilla saw the number of households where two parents work and children in after-school day-care programs increase, she decided to help bring the clubs to more schools last year.
The clubs now meet for an hour once a week at schools in Bolingbrook, Channahon, Joliet, Minooka, Plainfield and Shorewood. There also are clubs in Aurora and Rockford.
When the children walk into the classroom, they pin on name tags that read “Jesus Loves Me” and recite the Scripture phrase they memorized the week before.
In a recent class, they sang religious songs, such as “Walk Like Jesus,” and watched a puppet show outlining the meaning of the Fifth Commandment: “Honor thy father and thy mother.”
Parents said they embrace the opportunity for their children to further their spiritual growth.
“My children learn about God and Jesus Christ at home, and we go to church regularly,” said Pat Frauenheim of Channahon, who sends her two children, Lauren and Jack, to the Good News Clubs.
