Charles C. Haynes

Dr. Charles C. Haynes is director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum and a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center. He writes and speaks extensively on religious liberty and religion in American public life.

Haynes is best known for his work on First Amendment issues in public schools. Over the past two decades, he has been the principal organizer and drafter of consensus guidelines on religious liberty in schools, endorsed by a broad range of religious and educational organizations. In January 2000, three of these guides were distributed by the U.S. Department of Education to every public school in the nation. (See also A Parent's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools, A Teacher's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools and Public Schools & Religious Communities.)

Haynes is the author or co-author of six books, including First Freedoms: A Documentary History of First Amendment Rights in America (2006) and Religion in American Public Life. His column, Inside the First Amendment, appears in newspapers nationwide.

He is a founding board member of the Character Education Partnership and serves on the steering committee of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and the American Bar Association Advisory Commission on Public Education. He chairs the Committee on Religious Liberty of the National Council of Churches.

Widely quoted in news magazines and major newspapers, Haynes is also a frequent guest on television and radio. He has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal and on ABC’s "Evening News." In 2008 he received the Virginia First Freedom Award from the Council for America’s First Freedom.

Haynes holds a master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School and a doctorate from Emory University.

Posts by Charles C. Haynes:

Inside the First Amendment, Religion Commentary | | June 3, 2011

As gay rights advance, should religious groups get accommodation?

Equality and liberty are core American principles, but neither should trump the other. Let’s uphold both by moving from gay rights vs. religious freedom to gay rights and religious freedom.

Inside the First Amendment, Religion Commentary | | May 23, 2011

When schools go to church, conflict follows

Legal line-drawing isn’t easy when courts are asked to sort out motives and justifications for using houses of worship for public high school graduations.

Religion Commentary | | May 5, 2011

Memo to Sumner County: Local schools aren’t local churches

If only a fraction of the allegations are true, public school officials in this Tennessee county are wrongly treating their school district like a missionary field for the Christian faith.

1 for All, Inside the First Amendment, Religion Commentary | | May 5, 2011

Atheists, the First Amendment, and the demand for equal treatment

Inside the First Amendment: A government-sponsored “prayer day” is an anachronism, a vestige of a bygone era in America when the majority faith was often imposed as a national creed.

Inside the First Amendment, Speech Commentary | | April 22, 2011

Freedom goes viral: trouble for dictators

Inside the First Amendment: Millions of people are using the virtual public square to exercise their right to speak freely, publish their opinions, assemble peacefully and petition for redress of grievances.

Religion Commentary | | April 8, 2011

School wars over religion heating up (again)

First Amendment principles are starting to work in public education, but backsliding into lawsuits and yelling will reverse the gains.

Inside the First Amendment, Religion Commentary | | March 24, 2011

Shariah hysteria: unwarranted, unconstitutional

 
In my last column, I sounded an alarm about rise of Islamophobia in the United States, calling attempts in various states to pass anti-Shariah legislation an attack on religious freedom.
 
That inspired a good number of irate readers to sound their own alarm about what they view as my naïve and dangerous dismissal of the threat [...]

Inside the First Amendment, Religion Commentary | | March 10, 2011

The truth about Muslims in America

 
Throughout our history, the United States has endured periodic outbreaks of fear and hysteria — from the Red Scare to the Yellow Peril. To that ignoble list, we can now add the “Muslim Menace.”
 
Echoing “takeover” rhetoric from the past (communists in government, Asians in the workplace), demagogues and anti-Islam groups are using legitimate concerns about [...]

Religion Commentary | | March 7, 2011

At Super Bowl, God doesn’t make the cut

In the perennial post-game buzz about Super Bowl ads, the buff body of the new GoDaddy girl (aka Joan Rivers) was a big hit this year. So was the pugnacious pug dog flattening his owner to grab the Doritos. And, of course, who can forget the woman who got smacked in the head with a soft-drink can?

Religion Commentary | | March 7, 2011

Religious liberty in a divided (and confused) America

Ignorance and contention abound surrounding First Amendment’s religion clauses, yet U.S. remains world’s most successful experiment in living with religious differences.

First Amendment News | | February 25, 2011

For pro-democracy revolutions, democracy is not enough

The revolutions sweeping across Northern Africa and the Middle East could mark the beginning of a historic advance for democratic freedom — ranking in significance with such milestones of liberty as the American Revolution of 1776 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Or these upheavals could end with one tyranny replacing another, as [...]

First Amendment News | | January 30, 2011

County can uphold religious freedom by taking Commandments down

It’s not every day that a school board votes unanimously to ignore legal advice, defy Supreme Court precedent and invite litigation.
But that’s exactly what happened earlier this month in Giles County, Va., when members of the board ordered school administrators to hang the Ten Commandments on the walls of the county’s five public schools.
Rehang, actually. [...]

First Amendment News | | January 16, 2011

On Religious Freedom Day, glimmers of hope in sea of despair

Each Jan. 16, Americans are supposed to celebrate Religious Freedom Day, our least known, most neglected national holiday — except, perhaps, for the even more obscure Bill of Rights Day widely ignored every Dec. 15.
If people did pay attention, they might not find much to celebrate. After all, religious freedom in the United States — [...]

First Amendment News | | December 31, 2010

A Tennessee mosque, a good American story

The No. 1 religion story of 2010 was the emotional, often ugly debate over
plans for an Islamic center two blocks from ground zero in Manhattan, according
to Religion Newswriters Association members — and just about everyone else
making a list.
Not far behind was the media-driven obsession with the Florida pastor who got
more than his 15 minutes of [...]

First Amendment News | | December 19, 2010

To end Christmas wars, separate secular from sacred

Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe singlehandedly breathed life into the flagging “war on Christmas” debate when he announced earlier this month that he wouldn’t ride his horse in the Tulsa Holiday Parade of Lights this year — something he has done for decades.
Offended by a change of name (that actually took place last year) from [...]

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About The First Amendment Center

We support the First Amendment and build understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment.

The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, and the rights to assemble and to petition the government.

Founded by John Seigenthaler, the First Amendment Center is an operating program of the Freedom Forum and is associated with the Newseum and the Diversity Institute. The center has offices in the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

The center’s programs, including the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, provide education and information to the public and groups including First Amendment scholars and experts, educators, government policy makers, legal experts and students. The center is nonpartisan and does not lobby, litigate or provide legal advice. See First Amendment Center Fact Sheet and FAQs. See internships info.

The center’s website, www.firstamendmentcenter.org, is one of the most authoritative sources of news, information and commentary in the nation on First Amendment issues. It features daily updates on news about First Amendment-related developments, as well as detailed reports about U.S. Supreme Court cases involving the First Amendment, and commentary, analysis and special reports on free expression, press freedom and religious-liberty issues. Support the work of the First Amendment Center.

1 For All

1 for All is a national nonpartisan program designed to build understanding and support for First Amendment freedoms. 1 for All provides teaching materials to the nation’s schools, supports educational events on America’s campuses and reminds the public that the First Amendment serves everyone, regardless of faith, race, gender or political leanings. It is truly one amendment for all. Visit 1 for All at http://1forall.us/

Help tomorrow’s citizens find their voice: Teach the First Amendment

The most basic liberties guaranteed to Americans – embodied in the 45 words of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – assure Americans a government that is responsible to its citizens and responsive to their wishes.

These 45 words are as alive and important today as they were more than 200 years ago. These liberties are neither liberal nor conservative, Democratic nor Republican – they are the basis for our representative democratic form of government.

We know from studies beginning in 1997 by the nonpartisan First Amendment Center, and from studies commissioned by the Knight Foundation and others, that few adult Americans or high school students can name the individual five freedoms that make up the First Amendment.

The lesson plans – drawn from materials prepared by the Newseum and the First Amendment Center – will draw young people into an exploration of how their freedoms began and how they operate in today’s world. Students will discuss just how far individual rights extend, examining rights in the school environment and public places. The lessons may be used in history and government, civics, language arts and journalism, art and debate classes. They may be used in sections or in their entirety. Many of these lesson plans indicate an overall goal, offer suggestions on how to teach the lesson and list additional resources and enrichment activities.

See more about lesson plans.

First Amendment Moot Court Competition

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – the cornerstone of American democracy – is the focus of the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition. Recognized as one of the nation's finest constitutional-law competitions, this annual event features a current First Amendment controversy.

During the two-day competition in February, each team will participate in a minimum of four rounds, arguing a hypothetical based on a current First Amendment controversy before panels of accomplished jurists, legal scholars and attorneys.

Past participants in the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition have represented law schools nationwide, from Brooklyn Law School to Duke University to Arizona State to Harvard.

The 23rd Annual National First Amendment Moot Court Competition is Feb. 21-22, 2013. See registration information and details about the competition.

FIRST AMENDMENT CENTER ARCHIVES

State of the First Amendment survey reports

The State of the First Amendment surveys, commissioned since 1997 by the First Amendment Center and Newseum, are a regular check on how Americans view their first freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion and petition.

The periodic surveys examine public attitudes toward freedom of speech, press, religion and the rights of assembly and petition; and sample public opinion on contemporary issues involving those freedoms. See the reports.