While Christianity remains the single largest faith in the United States, the growth of religious diversity has seen school officials honor an increasing number of holy days, especially in large school districts and cities. In fact, holydays now recognized include Passover, Rosh Hashana, and Yom Kippur for Judaism, Diwali for Hindus, and Eid al-Aid for Muslims. Even so, school systems commemorating all of these are exceptions rather than the rule.
How religious holidays can be treated in schools and classrooms is unclear because the Supreme Court has yet to address a case directly. While the Court has ruled that educators cannot allow overt religious activities such as prayer and Bible reading in schools, it explained that the “study of the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education” does not violate the First Amendment. However, the Justices have not set clear guidelines about commemorating religious holidays in public schools and whether acknowledging various faith traditions is necessary or acceptable.
Classroom activities present two special concerns. First, courts agree that public school officials cannot permit religious activities such as prayer or religious music in classes absent curricular connections.
Second, displays of religious art such as Nativity scenes or paintings are trickier. Absent Supreme Court guidance for K-12 education, lower courts generally agree that religious art in public schools is permissible only as part of larger displays, is not overtly Christian, and emphasizes the secular aspects of the season. Accordingly, placing Nativity scenes or displaying religious objects or paintings alone in schools, regardless of the time of year, likely violates the First Amendment by favoring Christianity.
A case illustrative of confusion over Christmas arose in New York City. The Second Circuit decided that public school officials could allow displays of the Jewish menorahs and the Islamic Star and Crescent in December as promoting pluralism, tolerance, and respect for diverse customs. Ignoring differences in religious iconography because Christianity allows pictures and statutes while Judaism and Islam do not, the court banned displays of Nativity scenes as explicitly religious while ignoring religious connotations associated with the other displays.
Another concern relates to gift-giving. Educators probably can permit “secret Santa” exchanges that are secular in nature and do not invoke references to Christmas.
What can be lost in this December dilemma is the chance to teach children religious literacy. In other words, if the courts require educators to limit what students can be exposed to in learning about the religious traditions of their peers, especially when teachable moments emerge such as in December, how can children can develop tolerance of, and respect for, faiths different from their own? The challenge for public school educators is balancing the rights of all children in exposing them to religious-cultural celebrations while steering clear of violating the First Amendment by teaching about religion rather than promoting particular beliefs, even at at Christmas time.
Charles J. Russo, J.D., Ed.D., is the Joseph Panzer Chair of Education in the School of Education and Health Sciences (SEHS) and Research Professor of Law in the School of Law at the University of Dayton.
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