Seminary release-time academic credit challenged, upheld by federal court

A federal appeals court ruled unanimously Friday that students in public schools can appropriately receive academic credit for released-time religious classes taught during school hours. The decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., upheld a South Carolina program that allows students to receive elective school credit for religious courses taken off-campus during school hours. The program was challenged in 2009 by a group called the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which claimed that the program is a violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion").

Share
Stay in the loop!
Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content