Religion in Schools

Learn more about the relationship between religion and schools—including the separation of church and state and issues of religious freedom

Explainer

Bible laying on a school desk in an empty classroom full of desks.
Religion in Public Schools, Explained
Public schools cannot promote any particular religion, and they must respect the individual religious beliefs of students and staff.
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Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter smiles during a new lecture series titled, "Constitutionally Speaking" on Sept. 14, 2012 in Concord, N.H. Souter spoke to more than 1,300 who packed a small theater to hear him.
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, pictured participating a Sept. 14, 2012, lecture series on the U.S. Constitution in Concord, N.H., died May 8, 2025.
Jim Cole/AP
Law & Courts Retired Justice Souter, Advocate for Civics and Church-State Split, Dies at 85
Retired Justice David Souter, who wrote Supreme Court opinions on student strip searches and government aid to religion, has died.
Mark Walsh, May 9, 2025
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4 min read
Supporters of charter schools rally outside of the Supreme Court on April 30, 2025, in Washington.
Supporters of religious charter schools rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on April 30, 2025, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Appears Open to Religious Charter School
The U.S. Supreme Court grappled with whether charter schools are public schools and whether the Constitution permits a religious charter.
Mark Walsh, April 30, 2025
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7 min read
Supreme Court 25091823131249
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington on April 1, 2025. The court on April 30 will take up a much-debated case about whether a state must allow a religious charter school.
Law & Courts Supreme Court Case Could Reshape Landscape for Charter and Religious Schools
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 30 will take up the much-debated case of a Roman Catholic charter school in Oklahoma.
Mark Walsh, April 28, 2025
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9 min read
A selection of books featuring LGBTQ characters that are part of a Supreme Court case are pictured, Tuesday, April, 15, 2025, in Washington.
A selection of books featuring LGBTQ+ characters that are part of a U.S. Supreme Court case are pictured on April, 15, 2025, in Washington.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Leans Toward Parents on Opt-Outs for LGBTQ+ Lessons
The U.S. Supreme Court took up a case on whether religious parents may remove their children from public school lessons on LGBTQ+ topics.
Mark Walsh, April 22, 2025
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6 min read
Jeff Roman works on homework with his son.
Jeff Roman, a parent who has religious concerns about LGBTQ+ storybooks used in the Montgomery County, Md., school district, works on homework with his son.
Courtesy of Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
Law & Courts Supreme Court Faces Big Test on Religious Students' Opt-Outs From LGBTQ+ Books
The justices will weigh whether a school district must allow parents with religious objections to LGBTQ+ books to excuse their children.
Mark Walsh, April 17, 2025
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9 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Law & Courts Opinion Can States Bar Religious Charter Schools? The Supreme Court Will Soon Decide
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions suggest that bans on faith-based charter schools may violate the Free Exercise Clause.
Rick Hess, March 25, 2025
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13 min read
People Waiting In Line Before Brass Scale On Blue Background
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Law & Courts Religious Charters, LGBTQ+ Books, and More: A Winter Legal Roundup
This winter, key court cases tackled school desegregation, parental rights, religious charters, LGBTQ+ policies, and education funding.
Mark Walsh, March 19, 2025
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7 min read
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen near sunset in Washington, Oct. 18, 2018.
The Trump administration has filed briefs supporting conservative positions in two high-profile U.S. Supreme Court cases on religion and public education.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Law & Courts Trump Admin. Backs Catholic Charter, LGBTQ+ Lesson Opt-Outs in Supreme Court
The Trump administration filed briefs supporting conservative positions in two big cases on religion and public education
Mark Walsh, March 13, 2025
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5 min read
The Supreme Court in Washington, June 30, 2024.
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in a potentially landmark case about whether a state may, or even must, include a religious school in its public charter school funding program.
Susan Walsh/AP
Law & Courts Are Religious Charter Schools Legal? The Supreme Court Will Decide Soon
The court's ruling could fundamentally alter the line between church and state in education.
Mark Walsh, January 24, 2025
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5 min read
John Kluge, a former Indiana teacher, pictured in an undated photo.
John M. Kluge is an Indiana teacher who was dismissed for refusing to use transgender students' chosen names and pronouns.
Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom
Law & Courts Legal Fights Highlight Clashes Over Transgender Students’ Pronouns in Schools
A federal court weighs the case of a teacher who refused to use students' chosen names and pronouns, as similar questions arise elsewhere.
Mark Walsh, January 23, 2025
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9 min read
The Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon, April 19, 2023, in Washington.
A view of the Supreme Court in the afternoon on April 19, 2023, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Law & Courts Can Parents Opt Kids Out of Reading LGBTQ+ Books? The Supreme Court Will Decide
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a school district's policy of refusing to let parents opt out their children from LGBTQ+ storybooks.
Mark Walsh, January 17, 2025
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3 min read
Student with books and laptop computer
iStock/Getty
Curriculum 7 Curriculum Trends That Defined 2024
From religious-themed mandates to reading to career prep, take a look at what EdWeek covered in curriculum in 2024.
Sarah Schwartz, December 13, 2024
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9 min read
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston.
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston. Texas's state school board has approved a curriculum with Bible-infused lessons, the latest of a wave of state policies challenging the church-state divide in schools.
David J. Phillip/AP
States More States Are Testing the Limits Around Religion in Public Schools
A wave of state policies mixing public education and religion are challenging the church-state divide in public schools.
Brooke Schultz, November 25, 2024
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4 min read
A Texas flag is displayed in an elementary school in Murphy, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020.
A Texas flag is displayed in an elementary school in Murphy, Texas, in 2020.
LM Otero/AP
Curriculum Texas Students May Soon Be Reading Bible Stories in English Classes
The state has advanced a controversial curriculum that includes Christian teachings in K-5 lessons.
Sarah Schwartz, November 19, 2024
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5 min read
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