美國公立學校宗教活動之研究--以閱讀聖經及禱告為例

美國自從聯邦最高法院於一九六二年及一九六三年宣告於公立學校內由校方規定學生禱告及閱讀聖經是違憲之後，在公立學校內的宗教活動就一直是被探討的問題，而這個問題所牽涉到便是美國聯邦憲法第一修正案中所提的「宗教自由」，其內涵則包括了有「禁止設置條款」以及「自由行使條款」。美國公立學校內主要的宗教活動有：公開禱告及閱讀聖經、教授進化論、教室張貼十戒案以及公立學校內教室及資源的使用。而本論文僅討論公開禱告及讀聖經此部份。自從聯邦最高法院宣告違憲後，引起社會大眾極大的討論，當然這也包括了國會議員以及各宗教組織團體，值得注意的是甘迺迪總統對此決定並未有意見。聯邦最高法院除了宣告在公立學校內公開禱告是違憲外，另外也宣告在畢業典禮由牧師所帶領的祝禱也是違憲，但是如果是由學生帶領則為合憲。為了讓禱告以及閱讀聖經在公立學校是合憲的，許多人希望透過修憲的方式來推動，所以在六○、八○以及九○年代都有提出修憲案，只不過都沒有成功，所以只好退而求其次，希望透過制定法律，所以有了「平等接近法」的制定。當宗教與教育結合在一起，若是私人、教會或各個宗教團體所興辦的學校當然沒有問題，因為這些學校有相當大的辦學空間，但是若於公立學校中實施宗教教育則有所爭議，因為公立學校所提供的義務教育，事實上是一種強制形式的教育，若有宗教涉入，不單會引發政府是否以公帑資助某一宗教的困擾，也會造成學童被迫接受該宗教的情形。但是這樣的問題在未來仍然會在美國的公立學校發生，因此找出適合的解決方式，應該是校方、州以及政府都需要去用智慧去處理的。

關鍵字

政教分離；禱告；閱讀聖經；宗教自由；公立學校

並列摘要

After the U.S Supreme Court declared that Engel v. Vitale（1962）and Abington School District v. Schempp（1963）were unconstitutional, attributing to the reason that students at public school were ruled to pray and read Bible. The typical issue of religious education has been widely discussed up to now. This issue discussed in this thesis was related to the Freedom of Religion of the First Amendment. One of cases is the free exercise clause, and another is the establishment clause. The main issues in religious education in the U.S. public school are voluntary prayer, Bible reading, teaching Evolutionism, putting the Cross up in the classroom, making use of the classroom and resources in public school. In my thesis, I discussed the voluntary prayer and Bible reading only. This issue was most widely discussed by the Congress and the organizations of religion, especially the New Christian Right. The prayer led by the priests at the graduation of the public school was also unconstitutional. That’s the reason that those people who pro the prayer in public school tried to pass the Amendment in 60’s, 80’s and 90’s, but still failed at last. Then passed the Equal Access Act. To pray and read Bible in the private school is acceptable; However, in the public school, it’s still a controversy issue. In that the public school is a compulsory educational system, asking student to pray in the public school is disputable. In the future, this kind of issue will still happen in the public school. Therefore, the school district, State and the government cannot take off the responsibility to look for the best way to solve the problem.

並列關鍵字

Separate of church and state ； Voluntary prayer ； Equal Access Act ； Freedom of religion ； Public school ； Religious education

參考文獻

Joseph L. Conn, “ Reagan Backs Government Sponsored School Prayer,” Church and State 35, June 1982..

Roger W. Cobb and Charles E. Elder, Participation in American Politics: The Dynamics of Agenda-Building, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984.

Robert S. Alley, School Prayer: The Court, the Congress, and the First Amendment, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1994.

Kenneth M. Dolbeare and Phillip E. Hammond, The School Prayer Decisions-From Court Policy to Local Practice, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1971.

Henry J. Abraham, Freedom and the Court: Civil Rights and Liberties in the United States, 4th edition, New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.

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美國公立學校宗教活動之研究--以閱讀聖經及禱告為例

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