Charles Haynes columns
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Employers' religious tolerance falls short
By Charles Haynes Millions of American workers take their religion very seriously. Unfortunately, many of their employers don't.
04.30.00
Add America to the stories of Easter, Exodus
By Charles Haynes At the start of a week holy to both Christians and Jews, I sat down at a table with representatives from both groups to talk about the state of moral and spiritual education in our nation's public and private schools.
04.23.00
Another Columbine school finds answers in character
By Charles Haynes One year after the tragic killing of 12 students and a teacher, pundits and experts struggle once again to explain the unexplainable.
04.16.00
Florida developing constitutional Bible courses
By Charles Haynes Good news from the front lines of the Bible wars in public schools. Florida's Commissioner of Education just released new guidelines that will transform how the state's schools develop and teach Bible electives.
04.09.00
Circuit Court allows prayers at graduation if students lead
By Charles Haynes To pray or not to pray? That's the question facing school officials as they take up the seasonal debate over prayer at graduation ceremonies.
03.26.00
Religion in politics needs bounds
By Charles Haynes James Madison, whose birthday we mark this week, would hardly be surprised by the ugly injection of religion into the current presidential campaign. After all, the First Amendment that he helped draft separates church from state, but not religion from politics or public life.
03.19.00
Students have a right to religious expression in public schools
By Charles Haynes Students in public schools aren't shy about saying what they think. And some of what they think is religious.
03.12.00
1990 case left religion vulnerable to government intervention
By Charles Haynes When the Supreme Court severely weakened protections for the free exercise of religion in 1990, the public barely noticed. But now land-use disputes in many towns have alerted Americans to just how vulnerable to government intervention and control our religious rights are.
03.05.00
Revisiting some issues of interest
By Charles Haynes Letters in my mailbag frequently begin with the phrase "whatever happened to …." It's big news when conflicts erupt and lawsuits are filed. But where do the stories go from there?
02.27.00
'Hang Ten' movement ill-advised
By Charles Haynes From state legislators to presidential candidates, America's politicians are eagerly jumping onto the Ten Commandments bandwagon this month. Putting the commandments on the wall of every public-school classroom seems to be a politically popular move in the post-Columbine era.
02.20.00
School Bible courses require planning
By Charles Haynes It's easier to agree on the importance of studying about religion in the public schools than to do such studies right.
02.13.00
Charitable choice needs devil's advocate
By Charles Haynes Remember the debate several years ago about "charitable choice"? That's the provision in the 1996 welfare reform act that allows religious institutions to receive government money to deliver services to the poor.
02.06.00
E-mailed 'Prayer' full of mistakes about laws
By Charles Haynes A simple click of the mouse is all it takes these days to spread false and misleading information to countless people everywhere. Welcome to the Internet revolution.
01.30.00
FCC should let broadcasters be
By Charles Haynes When is religious speech "educational" and when is it not? Should a federal agency have the authority to make such a distinction?
01.23.00
School officials ease up on uniform enforcement
By Charles Haynes It was a great day for religious freedom this week when Aaron Ganues returned to school — without a uniform.
01.16.00
School policy controls religious leader's visit
By Charles Haynes Public schools are getting the message that students have the right to engage in religious activity and discussion on campus, as long as they aren't disruptive or coercive.
01.09.00
21st-century America must build ties, not rifts
By Charles Haynes By any measure, the 20th century was the "American century." From the victories over fascism and Soviet communism to the unleashing of the atom and the mission to the moon, the United States dominated the world stage for much of the last 100 years.
01.02.00
Rhode Island was first to grant religious freedom
By Charles Haynes With the new millennium fast approaching, top-10 lists of the "greatest people" and "most important events" are springing up everywhere.
12.26.99
Guidance on religion in schools
By Charles Haynes On Dec. 18, President Clinton took an historic step that dramatically advances the cause of religious liberty in public education.
12.19.99
How plastic reindeer tarnish sacred symbols
By Charles Haynes When do the créche and menorah — sacred to millions of people — become mere secular symbols? When the government erects holiday displays every December.
12.12.99
Holidays provide schools occasion to teach about religions
By Charles Haynes For too many school districts, this season of 'peace and goodwill' is disintegrating into a month of fights and lawsuits.
12.05.99
Religious liberty in America requires acceptance of diversity
By Charles Haynes Much has been made of the changing face of America — the rapidly growing racial and cultural diversity now found in every region of our nation. As year 2000 approaches, there is considerable hand-wringing among commentators about the potential for ethnic and racial strife in 21st-century America.
11.28.99
Both sides emotional over Bible in school
By Charles Haynes Want to know what people really think about the Bible and public schools? Tune in to talk radio. Callers aren't the least bit shy about telling you exactly where they stand and how wrong other people are.
11.21.99
Guidelines clear up use of Bible in schools
By Charles Haynes After more than 150 years of "Bible wars" in public education, peace may finally be at hand. On November 11, a remarkable coalition of 20 religious and educational groups released The Bible and Public Schools, the first-ever consensus guidelines on the place of the Bible in the curriculum.
11.14.99
Religion has mattered in elections from Day One
By Charles Haynes The 'character issue' appears to have put religious faith front and center in the 2000 presidential race.
11.07.99
Zachary's defeat is a loss for student's free speech rights
By Charles Haynes Little Zachary lost again last week in a case involving his first-grade teacher telling him he couldn't read his favorite story to the class because it was from the Bible.
10.31.99
Right way, wrong way to settle school religious-liberty disputes
By Charles Haynes Want kids to learn about the First Amendment? Just tell them that they can't express their religious faith in school. Presto, you'll have instant constitutional experts.
10.24.99
Character education can transform students and schools
By Charles Haynes Most Americans will tell you that character education in schools is a good idea. According to pollsters, 90% of us want schools to teach core moral values.
10.17.99
Parental involvement proves key to educational reform
By Charles Haynes Bad parents, like bad kids, get lots of attention. School officials spend much of their time dealing with problems caused by parents who are abusive, neglectful or uncaring. Maybe that's why some administrators and teachers get defensive about campaigns for more
10.10.99
Schools should let even young students start prayer groups
By Charles Haynes Contrary to what you hear on talk radio or read in direct-mail fundraising letters, public high schools aren't religion-free zones.
10.03.99
Striking all religious speech from schools not necessary
By Charles Haynes Censoring religious speech by students may be legal, but is it the right thing to do?
09.26.99
Amendment not necessary for freedom of religion
By Charles Haynes 'Istook is mistook.' Or so reads a button worn around Washington these days.
09.19.99
School must arrange calendars for practical, not religious, reasons
By Charles Haynes For American Jews, these first days of school are also the High Holy Days, the beginning of the spiritual year.
09.12.99
Letters show commitment to religious liberty in U.S.
By Charles Haynes Judging from the mail I receive, Americans may differ deeply about religion, but most share a strong and abiding commitment to religious liberty.
09.05.99
Safe schools should be safe for religious expression, too
By Charles Haynes With the tragic shootings in Columbine still fresh in their minds, school officials across the nation are pulling out all the stops to ensure school safety, including crackdowns on gang activity.
08.29.99
Evolution deadlock needs a new script
By Charles Haynes Headlines declared 'a creationist victory' after Kansas Board of Education voted to eliminate evolution from science standards. But is it really?
08.22.99
No cheap, fast solutions for school safety concerns
By Charles Haynes You could almost hear the collective sigh of relief among teachers and administrators when the final class bell rang last June.
08.15.99
Nation's founders debated 'soul liberty'
By Charles Haynes Not since the days of Massachusetts Bay Colony has the place of the Ten Commandments in public life been so hotly debated in America.
08.08.99
Bill calls for concessions to religion in workplace
By Charles Haynes Some Americans can't work on Saturday. Others need to leave work early on Friday. This isn't because they would rather fish or play golf; it's because they must observe the Sabbath as required by their faith.
08.01.99
Bill affecting religious freedom now in Senate's hands
By Charles Haynes If you care about your religious freedom, pay close attention to what's happening in Congress this month.
07.25.99
Church-school teamwork helps students
By Charles Haynes When the Chicago public schools reached out to the religious community in 1996, more than 200 religious leaders showed up at the first meeting.
07.18.99
Cooperation key to helping youths
By Charles Haynes Public schools need all the help they can get these days. Confronted by every imaginable social problem and educational challenge, educators are reaching out to many community groups — including religious organizations.
07.11.99
U.S. House should honor the First Amendment this July 4
By Charles Haynes In honor of Independence Day, here's a modest proposal for the U.S. House of Representatives: Instead of telling schools to post the Ten Commandments, why not require the posting of the First Amendment in government buildings — starting with the halls of Congress? Highlight the section that prohibits government from establishing religion.
07.04.99
Witches test our religious tolerance
By Charles Haynes Most Americans are all for religious liberty — at least until it protects a religion they don't like. Then all bets are off.
06.27.99
Letting kids leave class for church fuels debate
By Charles Haynes Releasing students during the school day for religious instruction off-campus is nothing new. The practice — often called "released-time" — was declared constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court almost 50 years ago.
06.20.99
Prayer issue mars graduations
By Charles Haynes Prayer at a high school graduation sparked not one, but two protests in Calvert County, Md., last month.
06.13.99
New Age lawsuit raises serious issues
By Charles Haynes Some called the lawsuit wacky. Others thought it was a waste of time. But a federal judge just gave a partial victory to the three Catholic families who sued a New York school district for promoting New Age religion and occultism in the curriculum.
06.06.99
Battles still ahead for religious liberty in public schools
By Charles Haynes With the end of the school year in sight, it's a good time to take stock of religious liberty and public schools.
05.30.99
Lists of significant religious developments vary
By Charles Haynes Does religion still help shape world events? Or is religion something that mattered in the distant past but no longer influences the direction of history and society?
05.23.99
U.N. misses the point in U.S. religion study
By Charles Haynes If you want to 'see ourselves as others see us,' read the new report from the United Nations on the state of religious liberty in the United States.
05.16.99
Schools have important role in preventing another Littleton
By Charles Haynes Even before the last funeral in Littleton, the finger-pointing was already fast and furious. Who's to blame?
05.09.99
Limits on school prayer protect rights of all people
By Charles Haynes Why does prayer — more than any other religion-in-schools issue — inspire so much deep emotion and so many strong convictions?
05.02.99
Character education real need in schools
By Charles Haynes Ironically, the column I am writing focuses on a report released earlier today calling for schools of education to prepare teachers to teach good character. The news from Colorado makes the report's message even more urgent.
04.25.99
Internet's power, variety fuels new school debates
By Charles Haynes The Internet revolution gives public school students and teachers access to all kinds of information — the good, the bad and the ugly.
04.18.99
War puts U.S. religious freedom in perspective
By Charles Haynes Meditations on evil acts committed in Kosovo out of religious and ethnic hatred.
04.11.99
Easter challenges schools to weigh religions, freedom
By Charles Haynes Passing a church the other evening, I noticed a poster of a big, brown bunny on the front door. The caption read: 'Easter is more than a fuzzy feeling.'
04.04.99
Coach is out of line by leading prayers
By Charles Haynes Locker-room prayer by the coach may or may not bring victory on the basketball court, but it's bound to lose in a court of law.
03.28.99
Lack of trust key factor in school suit over religious issues
By Charles Haynes Here we go again. Three Catholic families are suing a New York school district for promoting 'Satanism and occultism, pagan religions and New Age spirituality.'
03.21.99
Schools, teachers need tools to handle religion
By Charles Haynes If we're ever going to take religious liberty seriously in the public schools, we'll need people like Susan Mogull in every school district.
03.14.99
List of top stories overlooks religion
By Charles Haynes Americans love lists. But religion barely makes the cut on a recent list of the 100 top stories of the century.
03.07.99
Editing Pledge of Allegiance raises constitutional question
By Charles Haynes Students at California high school stir new debate on government establishment of religion.
02.28.99
Rule for religious clubs remains simple: Give equal treatment
By Charles Haynes What is it about religious clubs in public schools that continues to trigger so many silly lawsuits?
02.21.99
Devotional programs invite legal problems
By Charles Haynes A public school isn't the local church. Nor is it the temple, mosque or synagogue.
02.14.99
Suspension for refusal to wear school uniform brings suit
By Charles Haynes When little Aaron refused to wear his school uniform last fall, he was suspended from school. Now his great-grandmother has to drive Aaron 400 miles a week to a private school she can't afford.
02.07.99
Satanism in school poses First Amendment challenge
By Charles Haynes Ten years ago, questions about Satanic symbols and activities in public schools were mostly hypothetical. Not anymore.
01.31.99
Utah schools turn to 3Rs to cope with challenge of religious diversity
By Charles Haynes Working in Utah this past week, I met scores of public school teachers and administrators committed to the religious-liberty principles of the First Amendment.
01.24.99
Action by teachers in French town raises questions around globe
By Charles Haynes Last week an obscure incident in a little French town raised important questions for Americans about the meaning of religious liberty.
01.17.99
Re-enacting religious events invites trouble
By Charles Haynes When a fourth-grade class in California held a 'Court of Honor' recently, some administrators weren't sure if the activity belonged in a public school.
01.10.99
Legal fights mark year in religion
By Charles Haynes There were fewer lawsuits and angry fights about religion in the public schools in 1998 — but still far too many.
01.03.99
Constitution lays path for coexistence
By Charles Haynes For millions of American Jews, Christians, and Muslims, this month of bombs and impeachment is also a time for renewal of faith and hope.
12.27.98
Schools fret over sermonettes
By Charles Haynes Most Americans agree that public-school officials shouldn't promote or
denigrate religion.
12.20.98
There's a right way to do holidays in school
By Charles Haynes In many public schools, the holiday season has become the silly season.
12.13.98
Arizona governor's proclamation for National Bible Week brings suit
By Charles Haynes Many governors proclaimed National Bible Week in November, but only one was taken to court for it.
12.06.98
Universal rights remain distant
By Charles Haynes Universal rights remain distant
11.29.98
Thank the Pilgrims for progress
By Charles Haynes As every school kid learns, the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth Colony was a joyous occasion. But what we probably don't learn is that the joy was short-lived. The peace with the Indians would soon be broken.
11.22.98
Extensive series fills gaps in coverage of religion history
By Charles Haynes 'We can't teach much about religion in American history,' a Pennsylvania teacher told me last week.
11.15.98
Parents more supportive when schools keep them informed
By Charles Haynes When parents heard about the 'hot, sexy, and safer' assembly, many were outraged.
11.08.98
Freedom of religion must be for everyone
By Charles Haynes Roger Williams would have been stunned by the praise heaped on him last week in Rhode Island, the colony he founded more than 350 years ago.
11.01.98
Bill gives U.S. means to fight persecution
By Charles Haynes A unanimous Congress? Highly unlikely, if not impossible in these pre-election days of bitter partisanship and party-line votes.
10.25.98
Day of the Dead issue haunting public schools
By Charles Haynes Welcome to the newest addition to the list of holidays most likely to cause conflict in public schools.
10.18.98
Teachers face tough questions about religion
By Charles Haynes 'What can I say to students about my faith?'
10.11.98
Family-life courses need religious touch
By Charles Haynes Religions have much to say about marriage and sexuality. But not a word of it can be found in the health textbooks used in public high schools.
10.04.98
Neutrality depriving schools of religion as learning topic
By Charles Haynes The public-school curriculum virtually ignores religion. Except for brief treatments of the topic in history and sometimes literature, most subjects are taught without any attention to religious ideas or ways of seeing the world.
09.27.98
Schools should be sensitive to religions of minorities
By Charles Haynes Forget the home run race. Litigation has now surpassed baseball as America's favorite national pastime.
09.20.98
Religion back in classroom after 35 years
By Charles Haynes In Abington, Pa., the controversy over religion in the schools has finally come full circle.
09.13.98
Is a 60-second, rote prayer at ball games worth a fight?
By Charles Haynes Football season has arrived, and in small towns across America that means Friday nights in the bleachers, cheering the school to victory. A short prayer over the loudspeaker, a valiant attempt to sing "The Star Spangled Banner," and the game begins. God, country, and football.
09.06.98
American schools, unlike many, teach harmony, not hate
By Charles Haynes Few Americans give this extraordinary achievement a second thought. What people in places like Northern Ireland, the Middle East, and India are literally dying to achieve, we take for granted.
08.31.98
Examining a president's words
By Charles Haynes Thomas Jefferson's famous letter about 'wall of separation between church and state' stirs another debate about the meaning of the First Amendment.
08.23.98
Loss of school tradition needn't tear apart county
By Charles Haynes Northern Alabama can be pretty hot in the middle of August — and I don't just mean the weather. Folks in DeKalb County are still steamed about a federal court injunction aimed at ending school-sponsored religious practices.
08.16.98
How schools can help meet needs of Muslim students
By Charles Haynes When school doors open later this month, America's exploding religious diversity will fill the classrooms.
08.09.98
Schools can avert Exodus 2000
By Charles Haynes Most public-school teachers react with shock and anger when they first hear about Exodus 2000. That's the movement calling for all Christians to leave public schools by the year 2000.
08.02.98
'A Vision of Religious Liberty in Schools'
By Charles Haynes Text of testimony by Charles C. Haynes before the United States Commission on Civil Rights, given May 20, 1998.
05.20.98
Public schools confront the 'December dilemma'
By Charles Haynes Ringing fills the air here at the First Amendment Center, but the tune is not "Jingle Bells." Angry parents and confused principals are on the other end of the phone line, calling about Christmas in the schools.
11.30.97
Court protects students wearing religious symbols
By Charles Haynes A pop quiz: What's the difference between rosary beads and gang symbols? A yarmulke and a baseball cap?
11.23.97
Schools that ignore society's religious roots are off base
By Charles Haynes At Thanksgiving 12 years ago, an editorial cartoon depicted a little boy giving a class presentation in a public school. The caption read: "The Pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you-know-what. When they landed, they gave thanks to you-know-who. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday you-know-where."
11.16.97
Schools must convey message that parents are always welcome
By Charles Haynes With tears in her voice, the mother of two small children called to complain that she was being ignored by her school district. She had just transferred her kids from a religious school, and she was anxious to know what they would be taught in public school.
11.10.97
Network provides means to bridge abortion chasm
By Charles Haynes If there's one issue that most defies 'finding common ground,' it's abortion. Not since the fight over the abolition of slavery have Americans been so deeply divided and the public debate so hostile and angry.
11.02.97
By definition, tolerance is not always a virtue
By Charles Haynes Strange as it may seem, 'tolerance' is now a fighting word in some school districts.
10.18.97
Unhappy parents protest Halloween activity in school
By Charles Haynes Like a ghoul that rises from its grave in one of those awful horror movies, the Halloween controversy just won't go away.
10.12.97
Church party legal, but must be dealt with sensitively
By Charles Haynes Oklahoma teacher says principal told him there could be no Christmas party for his second-graders at local church.
10.05.97
Page last updated: 10/2/2013 6:53:40 AM
