Abstract
Accepting a music teacher position for the first time is overwhelmingly exciting and nerve-wracking. Preparing for your first year as a music teacher requires setting rules and expectations, planning lessons and repertoire, and navigating through administrative and community relations. Although you may feel prepared musically and pedagogically for the job, there is another tool that you must be armed with: the law.
One of the biggest obstacles that music teachers in many places face is the delicate balance of programming sacred and secular music. Vocal music teachers tend to get the most attention in this matter due to the presence of lyrics in many types of choral music and what these texts often represent. Fortunately, you are not the first teacher who has had to face this polarizing issue. To remain focused and clear on what is legal and what is not, we must take a brief look at past case law and the rules that have sprung from these decisions.
In the United States, citizens are guaranteed certain constitutional rights. The First Amendment states that these include freedom of speech, to assemble peaceably, and to practice our chosen religion (or no religion). When we sign a teaching contract, however, we are agreeing to be agents of the state government and must follow state laws as they pertain to our job.
The First Amendment’s Religion Clause states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In other words, public schools cannot engage in any acts that promote specific religious beliefs. This includes prayer led by school personnel, student clubs in which faculty and staff participate in religious activities, or religious-based content that perpetuates a specific religious belief.
The First Amendment Religion Clause is broken down into two specific sections: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. The Establishment Clause states that the United States government cannot establish or endorse a specific system of religion. The government also cannot show preference of religion over secularism in general and vice versa. The Free Exercise Clause states that the government cannot interfere with a citizen’s right to participate in religious activities. Within the school system, the Free Exercise Clause protects the students more than the teachers because, as mentioned earlier, teachers are agents of the government while engaging in job-related activities. This is why students can have religious-based clubs or student-led prayer at events at school: They are free to exercise their religious beliefs, but teachers are not permitted to actively participate in, endorse, or prohibit those activities.
Okay, now we know what the Constitution says, let’s see what it means for us. If we know that teachers are not allowed to express their own religious beliefs in schools and that the government cannot establish a system of religion, then how are we supposed to perform sacred music? The answer could lie in what is called the Lemon test.
Lemon v. Kurtzman 403 U.S. 602 (1971), was a groundbreaking case that established guidelines under which religious-based content must fall. The lawsuit dealt with public school funds being used to pay the salaries of teachers in Catholic schools. The result provides a set of guidelines that should be applied to matters dealing with the establishment of religion in schools. The following three guidelines that must be satisfied to avoid violating the Establishment Clause:
The content, activity, and materials must be clearly used for a secular purpose.
The content, activity, and materials must not advance or inhibit religious beliefs.
There should not be “excessive entanglement” between government and religion.
Simply put, if you are going to select content that is sacred, there must be a secular reason for you to do so. For example, if you wish to perform the Antonio Vivaldi Gloria, then the justification must be because of the musical, pedagogical, and historical benefits that this study will provide the students and not because of the spiritual message of the text.
Additional tests may be applied when examining curriculum as it pertains to the First Amendment. The Endorsement Test, first established in Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668 (1984), suggests that if there is a perception that the government is strongly endorsing a specific religious belief, then that government action is no longer valid. In Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992), the United States Supreme Court applied the Coercion Test, which states that there should be no government pressure or coercion on individuals to get them to participate in religious activities.
There is a multitude of cases that add support when dealing with First Amendment Religion issues. Florey v. Sioux Falls School District, 619 F.2d 1311 (8th Cir. 1980) is a seminal case about Christmas music in holiday programs. The Sioux Falls School District was sued because the plaintiff felt that the school Christmas assembly was religiously based. The school board policy stated that the students have a right to a musically rich education and that studying and performing sacred music as part of the musical repertoire was important in order to give them a high-quality experience. The court found that the educational value of the Christmas music outweighed the religious content and that sacred music could continue being performed so long as it offered an enriching educational experience.
When applying the Lemon test, we see that the verdict was accurate. In this case, the Christmas music performed at the assembly was not intended for sacred worship but rather displayed the variety of high-quality, seasonal repertoire that helped to achieve those objectives of the curriculum. The performance of the music was for a secular purpose, did not advance or inhibit religious beliefs, and did not excessively entangle government with religion. With that in mind, the defendant did not violate the Establishment Clause.
Similarly, in Doe v. Duncanville Independent School District, 70 F. 3d 402 (5th Cir. 1995), the defendant was sued because the choir theme song was The Lord Bless You and Keep You, which is clearly a sacred piece. The choir teacher argued that the piece was the choir theme song due to its musical and artistic merit, not because of the text. Furthermore, if that piece were to be removed from the repertoire, then all the other valuable sacred music would also need to be removed, which would be detrimental to the students’ musical experience. The court ruled in favor of the defendant, thus allowing the choir to continue to include sacred music in the curriculum.
The previous two cases are quintessential examples of how sacred music is defended within the schools and how the Lemon test could be beneficial when deciding whether sacred repertoire is acceptable to include in your curriculum.
Alternatively, Doe v. Aldine Independent School District, 563 F. Supp. 883 (S.D. Tex. 1982) is an example of a case in which sacred music did not pass the Lemon test. Teachers at Aldine Independent School District set a prayer to music that they then used to lead the students in song. The song was sung before school events such as athletic games and graduation ceremonies. The plaintiff sued the school district stating that this song, which clearly mentions God in a worshipful manner, violated the Establishment Clause. The court found that the song did not serve a clearly secular purpose and ruled in favor of the plaintiff. When we remember the Free Exercise Clause, we know that the students are welcome to sing the song on their own as a form of religious expression, but the teachers are not allowed to lead them and/or participate in the activity in any way.
Although there are fairly concrete laws and examples of what to do and what not to do, it is still essential for you to know your school’s history when making decisions. If possible, try to find out what has been done in the past and the way in which the community has reacted. If your school has long-standing traditions, then it is important to be aware of them and be sensitive to those needs as much as possible. For example, if your school has only ever performed secular music, you may need to explain to inquiring minds why you are starting to incorporate sacred music into the repertoire.
Being armed with the government’s position on religion in schools as well as some music-specific court cases could help to clarify the curricular decisions that you’ve made to provide your students with a holistic learning experience. Each situation is unique, and “reading the room” is important when making decisions, but with a strong understanding of the law, these situations may be easier to deal with.
Read the National Association for Music Education’s Position Statement on Sacred Music in Schools at http://bit.ly/NAfMESacredMusic.