UNIT: The Roots and Meaning of Religious Liberty in America
Larry Pahl
Elgin High School

Unit Objectives     Lesson Plan 1     Lesson Plan 2      Lesson Plan 3     Lesson Plan 4

SUMMARY

1. Why the content matters to students.

The Bill of Rights is what America prides itself on, in comparison with other countries. There is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia. In China there are heavy restrictions on people peaceably gathering together. Free speech can be a dangerous undertaking in Cuba.

When Americans give reasons why they will fight in wars, usually the first reason given is to "defend our freedoms." The rights protected in the Bill of Rights are precious, and largely unknown in many countries and cultures in the history of the world.

The very first two of the protections in the very First Amendment deal with religious freedoms, the right to no establishment and the right to free exercise of religion. These were not written on American stone tablets when the first European settlers came here. They were ideas that were derived with intellectual vigor in a country that had no laws. They became the great promise of what America offers to the world.

How did they come to be at the cornerstone of the American Constitution. What is their history? What is their fullest and widest intention? What has been the actual dispensation of their promise in practice? How has the Supreme Court interpreted these clauses over the decades?

These questions, and this line of study is critical for truly understanding the greatness
of America and the unrivaled beauty it offers to its citizens. Every citizen of America should be educated on these freedoms and their prominent place in a democratic society.

2. What content preceded this unit and what content will follow.

This material can be adapted to several different courses. I used one of these lessons in a foundational section of an American law class at Bowen High School. The material could easily be used in a Civics class, a Government class, or an American History class or even a History of Political Thought class. Knowledge of the history of the founding of America is helpful for this unit, but because so much theory is involved in the development of the religion clauses, it is possible to teach it to students who do not have a strong historical background. (See " Taxonomy of Content Arena For this Unit Plan" for this Unit; a content "map" which probably no students will have
mastery of)

3. Major project to accompany this unit.

The class will sit as a mock Congress. The President (the teacher) will present a plan he claims has the backing of the American people to add an amendment to the Constitution to restrict the religious liberty implied by the First Amendment, because of the current threat of Islamic fundamentalism. Various class leaders will have been privately communicated with by the President to help steer the class debate. The class (Congress) will be left with the decision as to whether a this Religious Amendment should be passed or not. Evidence of having been exposed to pertinent history and theory on the subject should be displayed by each congressperson. Wording for those drafting an amendment should be drawn in part from historical sources. Students opposing can write pieces to be placed in the Congressional record also drawing from historical documents.

4. Unit objectives.

There are many objectives for this unit but the three most important are as follows:

1. That students become informed citizens about the important freedoms that undergird the democracy they live in.
2. That students come to realize that the direction America took with the religion clauses at the time of their drafting was one which was the result of a tremendous amount of thought-battling and intellectual friction. It was not some species of an inevitable, blind, historical destiny. Thoughts and actions carry consequences. The attainment of worthy ends often requires tremendous sweat, sacrifice and diligence of purpose.
3. That students, as a result of the above two objectives, recognize their personal responsibility to defend the heritage of freedom they have inherited in the bounteous bequest of the First Amendment.

5. Capsule of each lesson plan.

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Lesson 1. The Historical Roots of the Establishment Clause.

Content

1. The status of establishment in the broad history of the world.
2. The status of establishment in pre-colonial England, and in colonial America.
   1. The running debate between John Cotton, Puritan leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Roger Williams, religious liberty advocate.
3. The battle over disestablishment in colonial Virginia.
   1. The philosophical dispute between James Madison and Patrick Henry
4. The founding debates over the ideas that would eventually be formulated in the Establishment Clause

Method of delivering content:

Day one - Lecture and hand out of primary source documents to be read for a quiz on day two.

Day two - Quiz on primary source documents. Discussion of content. Final lecture to cover topics still in need of clarification, elucidation, exposition.

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Lesson 2. The Historical Roots of the Free Exercise Clause.

Content

1. Free exercise as a principal of citizenship in major ancient world cultures. (Minimal, if any)
2. Magna Carta, Inquisition, Star Courts. (Minimal free exercise)
3. The political philosophers. Plato, More, Machiavelli, Locke, Hobbes, Marx, Rousseau, et. al. and how their philosophies, and view of the "state of nature" relate to the concept of individual "free exercise."
4. The development of Madison's thoughts on toleration and its input into the American public sphere
5. The various wordings of the free exercise clause (for instance it was originally penned as "rights of conscience.")

Method of delivering content:

Day one - Lecture. Hand out primary source documents for quiz on next day.

Day two - Quiz on handouts. Discussion of handouts and yesterday's lecture. Further teaching of misunderstood points and further development of the history of the advancement of religious freedom in America.

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Lesson 3. The History (since its passage) and
Meaning of the Establishment Clause

Content

1. The agreed upon wording of the Clause shows the consensus which arose among the Fathers on the question of the relationship of the church and the state.
2. Look at various Supreme Court cases which have used the Establishment Clause for decision.
   1. The religious right versus the secular left
3. A change of direction? The 1995 Rosenberger decision.

Method of delivering content:

Day one - Lecture on the founding meaning of the Clause (and its associated controversies) and its historical development through the Supreme Court. Pass out primary source material for quiz the next day.

Day two - Quiz on lecture from yesterday, and primary source handouts. Discussion on lecture and handout. Be sure that the class sees the two sides (and its various permutations) on the question of establishment, religious right and secular left.

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Lesson 4. The History (since its passage) and
Meaning of the Free Exercise Clause.

Content

1. Madison's victory over the prevailing conception of "toleration" versus actual liberty as a right to be freely exercised.
2. History of Supreme Court Free Exercise Cases
3. The bomb drops! The 1991 Smith decision
4. The reaction of RFRA
5. The Flores decision ruling that RFRA was unconstitutional

Delivery of content

Day one - Lecture. Hand out of primary source material.
Day two - Quiz on previous lecture and primary source material. Discussion of material. Clarification of any points needed. Hand out copy of the pertinent parts of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act for tomorrow's class.

Lesson 5. Student interaction

Content: This lesson will be mostly student run.
1. Students will look at current political cartoons from around the world and assess, among themselves, their peripheral take on the future of liberty in the US.
ii. The mock Congress referred to in Major Project, number 3, above.

f. Lesson 6 will be the final exam on the Unit, using a traditional unit test.

6. Methods of assessment.
a. Daily quiz scores
b. Quality of discussion during daily classes
c. Participation on the cartoon and RFRA discussions
d. Oral and written participation in the mock Congress.
e. Results of the traditional final exam.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE UNIT.

1. That students expand their knowledge of the "Taxonomy of Content Arena For this Unit Plan." (Appended in this Plan)

2. That students grow in their understanding of the development of American values and the political ideas that accompanied them.

3. That they see history as a process, and from this, learn the citizen-value that they may be a part of the process through responsible action.

4. That students see the unique additions America made to the church-state formulations which characterized the Old and Ancient Worlds.

5. That students try to assess the forces at work that could lead to such a radical turn of ideology as that displayed in Justice Scalia's majority opinion, interpreting the Free Exercise Clause, in the 1991 Smith decision.