Universal Faith (4)

In this article, once again the Supreme Court has been described as unhelpful when it comes to the controversy about incorporating religion into acedemics. The court determines if something is allowed in public schools based on the "secular purpose." The loophole that this resolution is that a person can decide whether or not one thing is used in a religious way or not. The new modification of this controversy is that the court can "expend resources to accommodate activities that are religious in the eyes of the believes as long as those activities can still be performed by the general public that interprets them as secular." Although there can be problems a common ground may be found through the chaos. For example, a public school in Maine has created a "wellness room" made for students and staff to relieve stress. Many Americans go to prayer in order to be rid of stress and concerns were brought up about what type of of practices will be allowed. The school's superintendent, McIntire, proposed a solution; "religious practice is allowed in school spaces outside of class time when it is not led or coordinated by school officials- which means that no practice of stress reduction would be excluded on religious grounds." This shows one way of "dual use" because the students are able to do yoga or pray in the "wellness room."

I think that this is a great way to incorporate religion without stepping on anybody's toes.