Expression of Students’ Religious Identity in Public Schools in Poland and the U.S.: Between Legal Protection and Educational Policy

Abstract

Introduction: This article conducts a comparative analysis of legal frameworks that govern expression of students’ religious identity in public schools in Poland and the United States. Anchored in constitutional jurisprudence, statutory provisions, and administrative regulations, the study examines three analytically distinct dimensions of religious identity – intellectual, public, and private practice – through the lens of educational law.

Research Aim: The research aim is to examine how constitutional principles, statutory provisions, and judicial interpretations in Poland and the U.S. define boundaries of the expression of students’ religious identity in schools in three selected psychosociological dimensions: intellectual dimension, public practice, and private practice. Examination of the Polish context will facilitate identification of current challenges to students’ freedom to express their religious identity at Polish public schools. The U.S. context will be utilized to formulate recommendations for Polish educational policymakers.

Evidence-based Facts: Poland’s model, characterized by cooperative church-state relations and constitutionally embedded religious instruction, is contrasted with the American paradigm of strict separation under the First Amendment. The analysis highlights recent regulatory shifts in Poland that have attempted to marginalize religious education, prompting constitutional scrutiny and invalidation by the Constitutional Tribunal. In the U.S., evolving judicial interpretations – from Engel v. Vitale to Kennedy v. Bremerton – illustrate the tension between institutional neutrality and individual religious liberty.

Summary: The findings underscore the need for legally coherent and procedurally sound mechanisms that balance pluralism, state neutrality, and protection of religious identity in Polish educational contexts. The article concludes with normative recommendations for policy refinement and calls for interdisciplinary empirical research to assess lived experiences of students navigating religious expression in public schools.