Saturday, December 23, 2017

Religious Liberty Education: Newseum Religious Freedom Center

Want to learn more about religion, or religious liberty, or the first amendment?

If so, consider taking a blended or online course through the Religious Freedom Center which is part of the Newseum.

I just finished an online course on the history of religious liberty in the United States. We examined the development of religious liberty in colonial America by reading about John Winthrop and Roger Williams and their opposing views of religious freedom. We studied the influence of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison on the First Amendment.

Some of the most interesting units included Supreme Court cases that tested the limits of religious liberty, especially those in public schools.   In 1940, for example, during the beginning of World War II, a young Jehovah Witness in  a Minersville, Pennsylvania middle school sued his school district for asking him to salute the flag every morning during the pledge.  The Supreme Court did not agree and in an 8-1 decision said that symbols of unity like the flag were more important than religious freedom.  Three years later, the Supreme Court reversed itself with a similar case.

Another highlight of the course included reading about Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X and the extent to which religion motivated them. Muhammad Ali refused induction into the army in 1967. The courts convicted him of draft evasion  despite his claim of conscientious objection, but the Supreme Court eventually overturned the decision.

Finally, I learned about two terrific resources. PBSs Frontline series, God in America, is great. It weaves a lot of history into a engaging and fascinating story.

Living with our Deepest Differences in a Pluralistic Society is another great resource. Put together by the First Amendment Center, it includes teacher resources and lesson plans. A lesson about Nativism in America, for example, reviews the main waves of immigration in America with charts and period cartoons.

Registration for Spring course ends on January 7th. Summer and fall applications are due May 18th.


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