ABSTRACT
The Satmarer engage in a wide range of economic activities, pay taxes, and are generally involved in the economic life of the larger community. Moreover, the Satmarer, like the nation at large, have seen more women and two-earner families enter the work force. Secular economic integration helps chip away at the isolationist wall. In other words, while the Satmarer seek to maximize their cultural and religious distinctiveness, they certainly will use public monies to support their own community institutions such as schools. Generally, the New York State education law, which meets the requirements of the federal law, seeks to “mainstream” students with special education needs into the larger school program. The prevailing interpretation of the Establishment Clause has been that its essential purpose was to separate religion and the state so that a person’s religious beliefs were irrelevant to her standing in the political community.
