In Law More Than in Life? Liberalism, Reason, and Religion in Public Schools

In the First Amendment, the free exercise of religion is set apart from the right of free speech, suggesting that religion is a unique form of speech, as well as of privacy and autonomy. The amendment extends this exceptionalism by prohibiting Congress from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion." In this article I consider a series of court cases involving the rights of free speech and religious conscience for children, particularly in the context of public schools. In these cases, the Supreme Court participates in the shaping of a liberal mind that divides reason from religion rather sharply, often privileging the former while simultaneously downplaying the role and power of the state in the moral and political development of schoolchildren. My discussion concludes with a consideration of the ways in which the Court constructs an individualistic psychology that ultimately strengthens the power of the state it purports to limit and shortchanges the meaningful development of liberal citizenship.