ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the five groups. These are facts, truths, and knowledge (FTK); separationists; accomodationists; neutral separationists; and nonseparationists. The chapter looks at one issue that has dominated debates about religion and public education; this is the matter of public school prayer. It also looks at a specific case that serves as an example of how religious controversy plays out in our public schools. The chapter explores the constitutional issues involved while focuses on the issue of private and public commitments. It describes readers should be able to begin to appreciate the significant problem of religious controversy by seeing the controversy through the "eyes" of each of the five groups. Whatever each group regards as a commitment is of the highest order and, as such, it becomes clear how easily religious controversy manifests itself, and how difficult some sort of agreement on religious matters becomes.
