- The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Education
- Dedication
- Foreword
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Religion, Privatization, and American Educational Policy
- Secularism and Religion in American Education
- Pluralism in Religion and American Education
- Religious Literacy in American Education
- Religious Liberty in American Education
- Democracy, Religion, and American Education
- Faith Development
- Moral Education
- Religious Education in the Traditions
- Religious Education Between the Traditions
- Private Religious Schools
- Religion and Homeschooling
- Public Funding of Private Religious Schools
- Religiously Affiliated Charter Schools
- Law and Religion in American Education
- Religious Expression in Public Schools
- Religion and the Public School Curriculum
- The Bible and American Public Schools
- Religion, Extracurricular Activities, and Access to Public School Facilities
- Religious Freedom, Common Schools, and the Common Good
- Religion in Mainline and Independent Private Higher Education
- Evangelical Higher Education
- Catholic Higher Education
- Religion and Spirituality in Public Higher Education
- Theological Education
- Religion, Spirituality, and College Students
- Religion, Spirituality, and College Faculty
- Teaching Religious Studies
- Teaching About Religion Outside of Religious Studies
- Campus Ministry
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
This chapter provides a brief history of the religious school choice lobby. The chapter explains how religionists, composed mostly of Catholics, Orthodox Jews, and evangelical Christians, came to advocate for the use of government funds for parochial schools. Leo Pfeffer and the American Jewish Congress opposed the use of federal funds for parochial schools, and by the late 1970s their advocacy had swayed the courts to prevent all but paltry sums of federal funds from going to private religious schools. This led school choice advocates to find alternative means of funding, namely tax credits and vouchers that aren’t regulated by the government. Given the growing divisions and tensions surrounding educational policy and religious constituents, we need to examine this history so we can better understand how to move forward. The chapter concludes with questions for educational policymakers concerning how the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution should inform government policy surrounding religion and education.
Keywords: privatization, vouchers, school choice, school funding, parochial schools, private schools, religion, Leo Pfeffer, American Jewish Congress, Establishment Clause
Janet Bordelon is the senior editor for the Institute of Curriculum Services in San Francisco, California. Her research focused on church-state issues in American history.
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- The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Education
- Dedication
- Foreword
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Religion, Privatization, and American Educational Policy
- Secularism and Religion in American Education
- Pluralism in Religion and American Education
- Religious Literacy in American Education
- Religious Liberty in American Education
- Democracy, Religion, and American Education
- Faith Development
- Moral Education
- Religious Education in the Traditions
- Religious Education Between the Traditions
- Private Religious Schools
- Religion and Homeschooling
- Public Funding of Private Religious Schools
- Religiously Affiliated Charter Schools
- Law and Religion in American Education
- Religious Expression in Public Schools
- Religion and the Public School Curriculum
- The Bible and American Public Schools
- Religion, Extracurricular Activities, and Access to Public School Facilities
- Religious Freedom, Common Schools, and the Common Good
- Religion in Mainline and Independent Private Higher Education
- Evangelical Higher Education
- Catholic Higher Education
- Religion and Spirituality in Public Higher Education
- Theological Education
- Religion, Spirituality, and College Students
- Religion, Spirituality, and College Faculty
- Teaching Religious Studies
- Teaching About Religion Outside of Religious Studies
- Campus Ministry
- Index
