Name: __________________________ Period: ________ Date:_____________
Contemporary Law and Justice
Freedom of Religion—TEST
I.
Match the legal principles in Column B with its case name in Column A.
Place the appropriate letter from Column B in the space provided in
Column A.-----2 points each
COLUMN A
COLUMN B
_____1. Santa Fe v. Doe
A. There is clearly a non-secular purpose to
require the Ten Commandments to be hung
on the wall in a public school.
_____2. Lee v. Weisman
B. It is a violation of the Establishment
Clause to say a prayer at all Friday night
football games
_____3. Engel v. Vitale
C. On the sixth day, God created man.
_____4. Everson v. Board of Ed.
D. It is no part of the business of
government to write official prayers for any
group of the people to recite as part of a
government run religious program
_____5. Zelman vs. Simmons-Harris
E. As long as the reimbursement policy is
part of a neutral plan to reimburse all parents
for the transportation cost without regard to
religious affiliation, the law is constitutional
_____6. Tennessee v. Scopes
F. General, religiously neutral voucher
program in which the parents make a true,
private choice.
_____7. Newdow v. US
G. “It is clear that graduation prayers bear
the imprint of the State and thus put schoolage children in a difficult position.”
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_____8. Stone v. Graham
H. It is constitutional for a school to merely
accommodate their schedule for a religious
activity.
_____9. Zurach v. Clauson
I. Adding the words, “Under God” in the
Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutionally
favors monotheism over all other religions.
True or False—on the line provided, state whether the following statements are
True or False. If the statement is true, place a “T” on the line. If the statement is
false, place an “F” on the line. 2 points each
TO BE TRUE, THE WHOLE STATEMENT MUST BE TRUE!!!!
______1. In Lynch v. Donnelly the Court found that the nativity scene violated the
Establishment Clause because the religious message was not “sufficiently diluted” with
other, secular messages.
______2. The Free Exercise Clause is enforced similarly to the Freedom of Speech
Clause.
______3. The district court in the Scopes trial found him not guilty because the law was
an unconstitutional law.
______4. The original framers of the Constitution added the Establishment clause
because they found that Government established religions and religious persecution went
hand in hand.
______5. The Free Exercise Clause specifically bans the participation by the
government.
______6. The Court in Engel v. Vitale concluded that prayers shall not be said at a
school graduation because a State sponsored prayer is in violation of the Establishment
Clause.
______7. A Court may look at the legitimacy of an individual religion but may never
analyze the sincerity of one’s belief in that religion.
______8. Thomas Jefferson felt that the “wall of separation” should be low enough and
penetrable enough to allow flexibility for government intervention.
______9. The Court in Zurach v. Causon concluded that the State had not violated the
Establishment Clause.
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_____10. It is a violation of the Establishment Clause to hang the Commandment, Thou
Shall Not Kill, in a public school classroom.
_____11. The found the Amish’s right to exercise their religion more important than the
state’s right to enforce their compulsory education laws.
_____12. Because the Court in Stone v. Graham found that the hanging of the Ten
Commandments was for a secular purpose, they ruled against the State of Oklahoma.
_____13. Because the prayer in Sante Fe vs. Doe was not written or spoken by a school
official, the Court found there was no violation of the Establishment Clause.
_____14. Eisenhower’s reason for adding the words “Under God” into the Pledge of
Allegiance was secular.
_____15. Lee v. Weisman articulated the Courts new Coercion Test in which it became
unconstitutional for the State to place minors in the position of either attending the
function or not.
_____16. Zelman vs. Simmons-Harris used Wisconsin vs. Yoder as precedent when they
held that the school system violated the Establishment Clause because the football games
were controlled by the school and that extra-curricular activities were one of a student’s
special events.
II.
SHORT ANSWERS----Briefly answer the following questions.—5 points
each.
1. How are your rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion
protected differently under the First Amendment?
2. Name the three parts of the Lemon Test.
3. Name two cases we read in which the Court found the individual state
regulation did NOT violate the Establishment Clause?
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4. Describe one situation were it would be constitutional for a school teacher
to teach the Bible.
5. The “Scopes Monkey Trial” was a religious court battle that pitted what
two beliefs against each other? (What religious and/or scientific theories
were argued?)
6. Describe why the tuition program in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris was not
found to be a violation of the Establishment Clause when admittedly, tax
raised funds were being used by private, religious schools.
7. Name the two clauses of the First Amendment that protect your right to
freedom of religion.
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IV. Short Essays. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING THREE “WHAT
IF…” QUESTIONS. Discuss the constitutionality of the problem you
choose. Remember, you should first state the constitutionality of the issue.
When you use one of the cases we have discuss on religion to support your
conclusion, you should include the NAME of the case, the FACTS of the case
and WHY the actions of the school above are constitutional or
unconstitutional based upon the case you site.
QUESTION #1
When Janice walked into school, she knew it was going to be a bad day. First, her
boyfriend dumped her for Judy batudi, the captain of the cheerleading team, and John
Stinky dumped his milk on her. When she walked into her homeroom, the day got even
worse. The teacher, Mr. Curious George had put on the board behind his desk the rules
of his new religion. (He also posted the name of the religion above the rules. The George
is Lord of the Universe religion.) The rules were, 1. Thou shall not lie. 2. Thou shall not
kill. 3. Thou shall not swear at Mr. George and 4. You shall not put any Gods ahead of
Mr. George, the king of all kings. Also, the State had recently instituted a new policy of
prayer in the morning. The prayer was purely voluntary. After morning announcements,
all students stood to say the non-denominational prayer. Janice objected to saying the
prayer. She was suspended for a week for being a bad girl.
QUESTION #2
Jenny Snotnose was chosen to go to Washington, D.C. as one of the Moot Court
competitors. This competition is something Mr. George takes students on every year as
part of his regular duties at Haverhill High. At the first meeting of the competitors,
before Mr. George arrived at the meeting, Jenny Snotnose spoke to the competitors in
private. She wanted the competitors to get together before each of them argued and pray
together. At the initial meeting, they all thought it was a great idea to build team unity
and get God on their side. While in Washington, Mr. George observed, for the first time,
the girls all praying together. He thought it was a good idea but said nothing and did not
stop it. Just before her first argument in Washington, Patty Passive, an atheist, decided
that the prayer was not such a good idea and she did not want to do it. She spoke with
Mr. George. Mr. George decided to do nothing because he did not start the prayer and he
was not going to end it. He told her to go pray and argue her socks off. Patty Passive
decided to pray with the other girls and argue.
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ESSAY #3
The City of Haverhill has three high schools students can attend. One of them is the
vocational school; the other is the college preparatory school, Haverhill High School, and
the other is a religiously based Catholic School. All three schools are supported by
public tax dollars. The Haverhill School Committee figured out that the cost of educating
a student in the Haverhill School System is $8,000.
During the summer, each parent is given the option of which of the three schools they
wish to send their students. Upon their election, the sum of $8,000.00 is sent to the
school that the parent chose. 33% of the parents elected to send their kids to the Catholic
School, 33% decided to send their kids to the vocational school and 34% decided to send
their kids to Haverhill High School.
George Jerkface sued the Haverhill School Committee claiming that they are violating
the Establishment Clause by using tax dollars to support a private, religious school.
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