Religious rights of teachers

The religious rights of teachers in America have often come in conflict with local governments and with teachers' unions intent on promoting a specific political agenda.

Discrimination Against Religious Teachers By Unions

Despite the fact that teachers' unions are theoretically supposed to protect the rights of members, religious teachers sometimes find that the opposite is true. William Morgan, an employee of the Mentor Public Schools in Ohio, objected to having his dues spent to promote causes which went against his faith (specifically, the union's pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality positions.) As a result, Morgan found himself subjected to annual and intrusive questioning by the Ohio Education Association, as did other Ohio teachers with similar religious objections. When his request for a religious accomodation was denied, Morgan filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In 2003, the EEOC found that the OEA was violating the rights of Morgan and other teachers of faith by denying them the right to abstain from contributing to causes to which they personally objected., .

Discrimination Against Religious Teachers By School Districts

John Freshwater is an eighth-grade science teacher from Mt. Vernon, Ohio. In June, 2008, he was fired from his position for refusing to conceal his Christian faith, thereby becoming a figure in the ongoing debate about academic honesty and the religious rights of teachers.

Freshwater had been a teacher and wrestling coach at Mt. Vernon Middle School since 1987. Despite being well liked and admired by his students , he experienced friction with the school district on a number of occasions, when the district used procedural technicalities to prevent him from questioning or criticizing the theory of evolution. .

The conflict that eventually led to the termination of Freshwater's conflict centered around religious materials he kept in his classroom. The school district demanded that students not be exposed to or allowed to access the Bible or the Ten Commandments. , . Although Freshwater attempted to comply with the district's ultimatums, his faith compelled him to stand up for his right to keep a personal Bible on his desk. The district disagreed, and fired him. In so doing, they cited accusations that Freshwater had "branded students" with the image of a cross. Freshwater clarified that he was demonstrating the function of an electrostatic device by marking students' arms with an "X," a demonstration that caused no harm to the students in question and is common in science classes.