Chelsea Yangirelfil

Mr. Merar
ED282 Multicultural
26 March 2015
Reflection: Chapter 8
From what I have read from chapter 8, the two provisions regarding religion in
the First Amendment can be conflicting. The two provisions are the Establishment
Clause and the Free-Exercise Clause. According to the information I read about the
two, the Establishment Clause prohibits the government establishing a religion. It
does not allow the government or anyone to give endorsements to a religion over
another religion or non-religion. As for the Free Exercise Clause, it allows the people
to practice their own religion as long as they are not forcing or the government is
making the citizens practice a religion.
In my opinion, the two provisions are good because it emphasizes the
freedom of believing in your own religion, but also disallowing one to not force it
upon others. However, with the Free Exercise Clause, that is a pretty difficult
provision because the practice of a religion may be initiated by students but they
tend to make others uncomfortable with their acts. Not only that, but lets say at a
school ceremony, a prayer is initiated by a student, some student will feel awkward
because they dont practice the same thing. Religion is a very sensitive topic in
schools and it is difficult to solve due to the conflicting beliefs and opinions of
everyone.