![]() At the same time, roughly three-in-ten (29%) know that it is unconstitutional but say that it is appropriate for a public school teacher to lead a class in prayer. Put another way, roughly half of teens who attend public school (53%) know that teacher-led prayer is prohibited and also find the practice inappropriate. Just 16% of teens incorrectly believe that teacher-led prayer is allowed by law, far fewer than the 41% who say it is “appropriate.” teens in public schools (and 79% of evangelical teens) correctly answer a factual question about the constitutionality of teacher-led prayer in public school classrooms. But most know what the law is 82% of U.S. Some of the teens who express this view are unaware of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Nationwide, roughly four-in-ten teens (including 68% of evangelical Protestant teens) who go to public school say they think it is “appropriate” for a teacher to lead a class in prayer. Both of these experiences are more common in the South (where 12% of public school students say a teacher has led their class in prayer, and 13% say a teacher has read to them from the Bible as literature) than in the Northeast (where just 2% say a teacher has lead them in prayer, and 3% say a teacher has read from the Bible as an example of literature). 1 An identical share (8%) say they have had a teacher read from the Bible as an example of literature, which the courts have said is fine. It finds that 8% of public school students say they have ever had a teacher lead their class in prayer – an action that the courts have ruled is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. The survey also asked about two kinds of teacher-led, classroom activities. And a third of public school teens (32%) say they rarely or never see any of these religious expressions by fellow students (or they did not answer the questions). A third of students say they often or sometimes see two (20%) or three (13%) of these forms of religious expression in their public school, while 26% say they commonly see just one. ![]() Overall, on an index combining these five types of religious expressions and activities by fellow students – wearing religious clothing or jewelry, praying before a sporting event, inviting other students to youth groups or services, praying before eating lunch, and reading religious scripture during the school day – 8% of teens in public schools say they commonly see all five (3%) or four out of five (5%). And 8% report that they commonly see other teenagers reading religious scripture outside of class during the school day. About one-in-six (16%) often or sometimes see other students praying before lunch in their public school. teens who attend public school say they commonly see other students in their school wearing religious clothing (such as an Islamic headscarf) or jewelry with religious symbols (such as a necklace with a Christian cross or a Jewish Star of David).Ībout a quarter of teens who attend public schools say they often or sometimes see students invite other students to religious youth groups or worship services. This includes about half of teenage public schoolers who live in the South, where students are more likely than those in other regions to witness and partake in various religious expressions at school. The survey finds that about four-in-ten teens who attend public schools say they commonly (either “often” or “sometimes”) see other students praying before sporting events at school. While periodic battles continue in the courts, what is the day-to-day experience of students in public schools across the country? A new Pew Research Center survey asked a nationally representative sample of more than 1,800 teenagers (ages 13 to 17) about the kinds of religious activity they engage in – or see other students engaging in – during the course of the school day. This year, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving a high school coach who was fired for leading prayer after games, just one of several recent controversies in this area of law. Where exactly to draw the line between constitutionally protected religious activity and impermissible state-sponsored religious indoctrination remains under dispute. At the same time, the court has held that students retain a First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion and may voluntarily pray before, during and after school. Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that teachers and administrators cannot lead prayers in public schools, and a decision in 2000 barred school districts from sponsoring student-led prayers at football games. Religion in public schools has long been a controversial issue. (Lewis Geyer/Digital First Media/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images)
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