Testing the limits of free exercise and establishment: Collective religious identity in South Carolina

The tenuous relationship between religion and public schooling illuminates the dangers presented to the democratic, pluralist state when collective religious identity trumps democratic and pluralist commitments and indeed violates the time-tested protections of the First Amendment. In this article, the authors provide a brief overview of the religion clauses in the First Amendment and explore 2 examples of how collective religious identity challenges the boundaries of free exercise and establishment. Exploring the impact of collective religious identity in relation to the religion clauses of the First Amendment should allow the reader to see how the prioritization of religious goals over civic obligations by school leaders can undermine legitimate purposes of public education, especially the aim of cultivating citizens capable of thriving in a pluralist state.