法律英语：108 Prayer in School

Hello, and welcome to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful¹ Life. I’m your host, Adam Freedman.

But first, your daily dose of legalese: This podcast does not create an attorney-client relationship with any listener. In other words, although I am a lawyer, I’m not your lawyer. In fact, we barely know each other. If you need personalized legal advice, contact an attorney in your community.   

Today’s episode concerns School Prayer. Mary writes: “At my children's high school there is a teacher/coach that leads prayer…..  He also has a link from the school's Web page to his own personal Web page that endorses² his religious beliefs.  Is this a violation³ of the establishment clause?”

That, Mary, is an excellent question.

The Establishment Clause is part of the First Amendment⁴ to the Constitution. It states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”This innocent sounding provision has been a constant source of controversy⁵ and litigation almost from the beginning.

Those Anti-Establishment Founders⁶

For starters – what did they mean by “an establishment of religion?” An established church was a concept well known to the Founding Fathers – most notably⁷ in the form of England’s established Anglican Church. Historical evidence suggests that the framers used the term “establishment of religion” (rather than “established church) so as to prohibit government aid to churches that may fall short of establishing a national religion.

No Sects⁹, Please!

The founders looked back in horror at the religious wars that had raged across Europe during the previous century. James Madison, often referred to as the “Father of the Constitution” said that the key to religious freedom, “consists in . . . a multiplicity of sects.” The fear was that if one religious sect⁸ gained the backing of the government, it could use its power to punish dissenters¹⁰. You might say that the Establishment clause was the founders’ attempt to promote sects, not violence.

The Perennial¹¹ Controversy

Translating these ideals into real-world decisions isn’t easy and the courts have been wildly inconsistent in interpreting the Establishment Clause. On a single day in 2005, the Supreme¹² Court held that a display of the Ten Commandments at the Texas state capitol was constitutional while a similar display in a Kentucky courthouse was not – meanwhile, the US Supreme Court building itself features no fewer than three representations of Moses bearing the Ten Commandments.

The State Must Be Neutral on Religion

Still, certain principles are fairly clear. Since 1947, the Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment "requires the state to be a neutral in its relations with groups of religious believers and non-believers. ”In the context of public schools, that means that students are free to say a prayer in their free moments, or even to form prayer groups with their fellow students. But teachers and school administrators¹³ are representatives of the state, and when they’re on duty they can’t encourage or discourage religious activity.For example, in Engel v. Vitale, the Supreme Court held that teachers and other public school officials may not lead their classes in prayer, devotional readings from the Bible, or other religious activities. In the 1992 case of Lee v. Weisman, the Court also held that schools couldn’t sponsor prayer at a graduation ceremony.

So, as to the first part of the question: if the teacher in question is leading students in prayer while acting¹⁴ in his official capacity as a teacher, there may well be an Establishment Clause issue. Even in his capacity as an athletic¹⁵ coach, he shouldn’t really encourage religion, beyond the occasional “hail mary” pass.

Does a Hyperlink¹⁶ pass the “Lemon Test”?

The second part of today’s question concerns the school’s Web page – it has a link to the teacher’s personal web page which in turn features religious content. Whether the existence of that hyperlink on a school website violates the Establishment Clause is a fascinating question.

Courts often evaluate questions like this based on the so-called “Lemon test.” This has nothing to do with citrus fruits or used cars; it comes from the Supreme Court case of Lemon v. Kurtzman. Under the Lemon est, government action involving religion has to meet three criteria¹⁷: (i) it has to promote a secular¹⁸ purpose; (ii) its primary effect must be neither to advance nor inhibit¹⁹ religion; and (iii) it must not foster an excessive entanglement²⁰ with religion. It’s a pretty fuzzy standard, and it’s hard to predict how a court would come out in any particular case.

A Link and a Prayer

Although I’m not aware of a case directly “on point,” in May 2008, a federal court in Tennessee held that a school had violated the Establishment Clause by giving “preferential treatment” to a prayer group formed by some of the parents. One aspect of that preferential treatment was providing a link to the group’s website from the school’s site.But that was only one of many facts in that case – whether there’s a First Amendment issue with your local school’s website will depend on all the facts.

Finally, it’s worth remembering that the Establishment Clause is meant to unite all Americans in our religious diversity. In the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, we remain “one nation, under …” Well, you get the idea.

Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life. 

You can send questions and comments to.........or call them in to the voicemail line at 206-202-4LAW.  Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

 

1 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

2 endorses   

v.赞同( endorse的第三人称单数 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• There isn't one country in the Middle East that now endorses the Eisenhower Doctrine. 但至今没有一个中东国家认可它。 来自辞典例句
• Whether any of this truly endorses Dr Patel's hypothesis is moot. 这些视频能否真正证明帕特的假设成立还是个未知数。 来自互联网

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

6 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

7 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

8 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

9 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句

10 dissenters   

n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He attacked the indulgence shown to religious dissenters. 他抨击对宗教上持不同政见者表现出的宽容。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• (The dissenters would have allowed even more leeway to the Secretary.) （持异议者还会给行政长官留有更多的余地。） 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

11 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

14 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

15 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

16 hyperlink   

n.超链接

参考例句：

• The database is fully hyperlinked both within the database and to thousands of external links.该数据库在其内部以及和数千个外部链接之间充分实现了超链接。
• When you click on a graphic and a video clip plays,you have clicked on a hyperlink.当您按下一个图形和视频剪辑的发挥，你点击了一个超链接。

17 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

18 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

19 inhibit   

vt.阻止，妨碍，抑制

参考例句：

• Don't let ego and greed inhibit clear thinking and hard work.不要让自我和贪婪妨碍清晰的思维和刻苦的工作。
• They passed a law to inhibit people from parking in the street.他们通过一项法令以阻止人们在街上停车。

20 entanglement   

n.纠缠，牵累

参考例句：

• This entanglement made Carrie anxious for a change of some sort.这种纠葛弄得嘉莉急于改变一下。
• There is some uncertainty about this entanglement with the city treasurer which you say exists.对于你所说的与市财政局长之间的纠葛,大家有些疑惑。