How do refugee students construct their lives in school in their host country? What are some difficulties that they face and how do they respond to those? Findings of a qualitative study conducted with female refugee students from Somalia indicate that students are to varying degrees active agents in the construction of their lives in a US urban…

In the Schempp decision, the United States Supreme Court held that Bible reading and prayer in the public schools during normal hours violated the first amendment's religious freedom protections. Looks at State statutory or constitutional compliance; court action in upholding or invalidating statutory or constitutional provisions; applicable…

This paper focuses on the duty of employers to make religious accommodations for employees. First it examines the First Amendment. Then it discusses major Supreme Court decisions from industry and education in the context of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1972 Amendment. One important case--Trans World Airlines Inc. v. Hardison--ruled in favor of…

Teaching about religion has never been expressly forbidden to public schools. Article presents a program for teaching and establishing the academic study of religion. (GB)

Although Karl Marx made anti-Semitic statements, his basic principles necessarily required advocacy of equal Jewish rights. (Author/EB)

Discusses attitudes of educators toward immigrant children since the mid 19th century. Concludes that prejudice and ethnocentrism in American schools and society have now been replaced by the ideal of cultural pluralism. (ST)

Investigated and compared Jewish (n=219) and non-Jewish (n=197) students' perceptions of the anti-Semitic atmosphere at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Jewish students were significantly more likely to perceive anti-Semitic environment than were non-Jewish students. Nonetheless, 71.4% of non-Jewish students believed Jewish students were…

Analyzes the April 1990 Supreme Court decision that a member of a religion may not challenge, under the First Amendment free exercise clause, a generally applicable criminal law that infringes on a specific religious practice. Discusses political and legal implications for the Native American Church and other minority religions. (SV)

Summarizes a case involving a teacher's use of a "magic rock" to enhance students' self-esteem. The teacher's eventual dismissal turned on unfavorable performance evaluations, not religious beliefs. The Eighth Circuit Court's decision to award front pay instead of reinstatement achieved the right result for the wrong reason, harbinging…

Summarizes findings from a report on religious freedom around the world created by a multidisciplinary, multi-religious group of international scholars, explaining that this basic human right is under assault in many areas. Presents descriptions of religious freedom in Russia, India, North Korea, and Sudan. A chart describes and rates religious…

Recent French and Turkish bans on Muslim women wearing Islamic head coverings in schools, colleges and universities starts this discussion of religious discrimination and the value of inter-religious open dialogue in which neither side holds entrenched positions. The paper links dialogue with the ethnographic methodology and uses this to examine…

Education and religion are indelibly linked: cultural precepts underpin education policies within the formal State education system, while education has a clear role to play in promoting tolerance. Clashes between religious beliefs and secular education pose problems for states as the current array of jurisprudence, particularly on Islamic dress…

Because creationism is not experimental, research-based, or accepted by scientific experts, it is not truly scientific and does not deserve equal time in science classes; yet, like all religious beliefs, it deserves tolerance and respect. (JM)

The holding that an employee could pay the equivalent of her union dues to a charity signifies an acceptance of accommodation and tolerance for differing religious practices in a pluralistic society. Available from Tennessee Law Review Association, Inc., 1505 W. Cumberland Ave., Knoxville, TN 37916. (Author/IRT)