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THE ISSUE  "Ours is one of the most devout nations in the world, and it is at the same time the most religiously diverse. The United States has more than 1,500 different religious bodies and sects - including 75 divisions of Baptists alone. This country also has 360,000 churches, mosques and synagogues, all coexisting in relative harmony. More than 90 percent of Americans profess a belief in God; more than half say they pray at least once a day, and more than 40 percent say they have attended worship services during the previous week. For a nation as large and diverse as ours to maintain a relative sense of religious harmony is a testament to the foresight of the authors of the Constitution, as well as to the tolerance and respect of our nation's people."
Excerpt from ACLU Briefing Paper: Church and State
"Schools do more than train children's minds. They also help to nurture their souls by reinforcing the values they learn at home and in their communities. I believe that one of the best ways we can help out schools to do this is by supporting students' rights to voluntarily practice their religious beliefs, including prayer in schools.... For more than 200 years, the First Amendment has protected our religious freedom and allowed many faiths to flourish in our homes, in our work places and in our schools. Clearly understood and sensibly applied, it works." President Clinton
May 30, 1998 THE FIRST AMENDMENT The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, called the Bill of Rights, were adopted to protect Americans from the power of the government to restrict certain individual liberties. The First Amendment protects the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. It says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Home | The Story | The Issue | Filmmakers | Resources | Comments | ITVS | POV |
