International Perspectives on Education, Religion and Law

This volume examines the legal status of religion in education, both public and non-public, in the United States and seven other nations. It will stimulate further interest, research, and debate on comparative analyses on the role of religion in schools at a time when the place of religion is of vital interest in most parts of the world. This interdisciplinary volume includes chapters by leading academicians and is designed to serve as a resource for researchers and educational practitioners, providing readers with an enhanced awareness of strategies for addressing the role of religion in rapidly diversifying educational settings. There is currently a paucity of books devoted solely to the topic written for interdisciplinary and international audiences involving educators and lawyers, and this book will clarify the legal complexities and technical language among the law, education, and religion.

Foreword Michael D. Waggoner 1. Does the Free Exercise of Religion Have a Future in the Market Place of Public Education United States? Charles J. Russo 2. School Prayer Martha M. McCarthy 3. Religion and the Public School Curriculum Suzanne E. Eckes and Allison Fetter-Harrott 4. Distribution of Religious Materials in Public Schools Ralph D. Mawdsley 5. Religious Displays and Holiday Observances in Public Schools Kevin P. Brady 6. Wearing Religious Garb in the Public Schools Allan G. Osborne, Jr. 7. Clash of Values: Religious Autonomy and State Efforts to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination William E. Thro 8. The Constitution, Religious Education and the Future of Religious Freedom in Australian Schools Paul Babie and Ben Mylius 9. From "Common Christianity" to "Equal Concern and Respect": Working Out a New Understanding of Religion’s Place in Canada’s Schools Gregory M. Dickinson and Nora M. Findlay 10. Adapting to Religious Diversity: Legal Protection of Religious Preference in State-Funded Schools in England Neville Harris and Javier García Oliva 11.The Legal Status of Religion in Publicly Funded Schools in Ireland Dympna Glendenning 12. Freedom of Religion and Religious Practices in School: The Judicial Approach in Malaysia Fatt Hee Tie 13. Freedom of Conscience and the Right to Education in Russia – A Secular Country of Cultural and Religious Diversity Maria Smirnova 14. Education, Religion, and the Law in South Africa Marius Smit 15. Analysis and Recommendations Charles J. Russo

Charles J. Russo, J.D., Ed. D., is the Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Allied Professions and Adjunct Professor in the School of Law at the University of Dayton, Ohio. Author or co-author of more than 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals, author/ editor or co-author of 51 books (most notably Reutter’s the Law of Public Education, Yearbook of Education Law, and Encyclopedias on K-12 and Higher Education Law, he has in excess of 900 publications.