USA Today reports that “Americans are more likely than not to favor religious expression in public schools, though most agree participation should be voluntary, a national survey has found.
The results of the survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., show about six in 10 Americans support allowing teacher-led school prayer in some form, while half favor displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.”
“‘Religion has been and still is a vital part of American life, and religious diversity has been a gift to the country since its earliest days,’ said Mary Ellen Giess, managing director of Interfaith America, a Chicago-based organization promoting American pluralism. ‘The issue is not whether religion has a place in our shared public spaces like schools, but rather whether all forms of religious and nonreligious expression are equally celebrated.'”
Giess later says, “The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized the importance of neutrality in navigating issues of religion. Our public institutions can neither promote nor inhibit particular religious viewpoints — and Americans overwhelmingly agree.”
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