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Article: Teaching about religion in public schools.(Church and State)(Column)
- Article from:
- The Humanist
- Article date:
- September 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 American Humanist Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Although the principle of separation of church and state is a fundamental element of American democracy, found in the U.S. Constitution and nearly all of the state charters, it has taken a long time to be implemented and the task is still not complete. Just as the lofty ideals of the Declaration of Independence took generations to come even close to full application, so, too, has realizing the goal of church-state separation taken a long time. Yet there has been steady progress, a continuing ratcheting forward, and this country has enjoyed a greater degree of church-state separation than any other.
Over the years, a sort of pan-Protestant hegemony has evolved ...