The Alliance for the Separation of School and State is a nonprofit working to remove government involvement in public school education. It is based in Clovis, Calif. Alan Schaeffer is its president.

The J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, is devoted to research in the broad area of religion, politics and society and committed to the separation of church and state and the advancement of religious liberty around the world.

The International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, promotes religious liberty and studies the relationships between governments and religious institutions. W. Cole Durham Jr. is a law professor and the center’s director.

The Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in Atlanta focuses on religion and the law worldwide. It is headed by John Witte Jr., a professor of law and ethics and an expert on religious liberty.

The Center for Church-State Studies at DePaul University School of Law is a nondenominational entity that promotes debate and discussion about the First Amendment and the Establishment Clause. It is in Chicago.

The First Amendment Center published a guide for parents about religion in public schools.

The Education Department published a guide about freedom from religious discrimination at public schools.

Read Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools, a publication of the Freedom Forum, posted on its website.

Cheryl Townsend Gilkes is a professor of sociology and African-American studies at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. She is an expert on black churches. She has written widely, including If It Wasn’t for the Women: Black Women’s Experience and Womanist Culture in Church and Community (Orbis Books, 2000).