Using public funds to support students at private religious schools is one thing, but establishing faith-based institutions within public districts is another.
Pastors pray for former South African president and ANC leader Jacob Zuma.
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Brendan Szendro, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Governed by a changeable body of ‘basic laws,’ Israel never settled basic questions like the rights of religious minorities. These destabilizing issues will continue to fester under a new government.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree…do you violate the establishment clause?
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Educators walk an fine line when it comes to marking religious holidays. But in so doing, are they missing an opportunity for teachable moments on faith issues?
Children evacuated from U.K. cities in WWII were taught in churches.
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The history of education in the West is closely associated with Christian religious spaces – from the first cathedral schools to the use of churches to teach children in WWII.
The Supreme Court ruled that baker Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, could refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple because of his religious beliefs.
AP/David Zalubowski)
Thirty years after the Supreme Court ruled that creationism cannot be required in schools, ‘creation science’ is still taught in some schools. What are the implications for climate education?
Who enforces regulations that bar churches from engaging in politics?
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President Trump claims that churches suffer from the over-regulation of their political speech. In reality, oversight is lax for religious groups and secular tax-exempt nonprofits alike.
South African President Jacob Zuma kneels as a pastor prays for him.
Reuters/Rogan Ward
Once again South Africa is facing the challenge of a compromised relationship between the state and the church. Is Nelson Mandela inadvertently responsible?
Professor of Public Theology in the Department of Beliefs and Practices, Faculty of Theology, at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University of Amsterdam), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam