Do students have a constitutional right to be exempt from activities with a religious component?
Yes. All students have a constitutional right to opt out of activities, such as a Christmas program or a concert with a religious song, that conflict with the individual beliefs of the students or their parents.1 When the religious activity does not violate the Establishment Clause, as explained above, the school is not required to prohibit the activity even though it creates conflict with some students.2 Schools may not force “any person to participate in an activity that offends his religious or nonreligious beliefs.”3 If a student has an objection to some school activity containing religion (e.g., a school concert containing a religious song or a field trip to a museum containing religious art), he cannot censor the expression or block the activity. The Constitution permits the student to opt out of participation, but not to silence others. Footnotes 1SeeWisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972) (holding that parents and guardians have a constitutional right to direct the upbringing a
