Religion in public schools : an American and South African perspective

Abstract

The Constitutions of both the United States and South Africa have provisions pertaining to religion. The United States Constitution is by far the briefer of the two, providing only that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." The South African Constitution grants to everyone "the right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion" while also providing that "religious observances may be conducted at state or state-aided institutions," as long as "those observances follow rules made by the appropriate public authorities, they are conducted on an equitable basis, and attendance at them is free and voluntary." Thus, while it is readily apparent under the U.S. Constitution that a conflict can arise as to whether government action constitutes an establishment of religion or whether government action prohibiting an establishment of religion has intruded upon a person’s free exercise of religion, it is not clear the extent to which that conflict exists under the S.A. Constitution. What does appear to be facially clear from the U. S. and S.A. Constitutions is that both purport to protect individuals from government intrusion into a person’s free exercise of religion.