Prayer In Public Schools example essay topic

Religion in Public Schools Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof... ' O according to the First Amendment of the Constitution. This idea of freedom of religion has been stated very clearly, but it also raises questions about the meaning of religious freedom. Should religious expression be excluded from all government activities?

Has separation of church and state been violated by the U.S. Treasury? For example, on the back of every U.S. coin are the words, 'OIn God We Trust'O. And what about when they swear-in government officials with a Bible? Why not use the Torah or the Koran? Is it separation of church and state when Congress opens each session with a Christian prayer?

The following prayer was recited at the start of the November 30, 1994 session: We pray, O God, for the bread for the sustenance of our bodies and spiritual food for the nourishment of our souls. In a world where much seems to be discouraging and where problems appear at every corner, we pray that the human spirit will not be taught by cynicism or despair, but rejoice in the possibilities of every new day and accept all Your blessings with thanksgiving. Amen. For some people in the Congress this raises serious questions about when prayer is or is not appropriate. One of the Representatives from Oklahoma made this comment in the Congressional Digest on November 30, 1994: 'O It was fine for Rev. James David Ford to offer this prayer, yet it is a prayer our children our not allowed to say in school'O. Since no amendment has been made allowing or prohibiting prayer, many schools have gone ahead and recited verses from the bible and allowed prayer in class. Another area of controversy has been the presence of religious symbols on the school grounds.

Schools such as the one in Livingston have gone to court over the wearing or carrying of objects such as the Sikh's. All these examples point to the fact that there are severe disagreements on the subject of religion in the schools. Religion in public schools has been around many years. In fact, it started in the colonial period of United States history when the schools we rethought to be an arm of the church; therefore, their curriculum contained religion. Of course, their schools didn't have many or probably any Muslims or Jews, but how does that differ from a small country town in Oklahoma where the population is completely of the Christian faith? Does this mean that the school cannot practice the religion in which the complete population is Christian?

Aren't these students being denied their religious rights? These questions may be asked by many. Government has a lot to do with the debate. Many Supreme Court rulings have made laws allowing or prohibiting the act of praying in schools in the past eighty years.

The first one was in 1914 when the 'Gary Plan'O was inaugurated in Gary, Indiana. The document stated that with the consent of parents, students would be released from school to attend places to worship. That was followed in 1940 when the Gary Plan was extended to Champaign, Illinois. It was struck down by the Court in 'McCollum vs. Board of Education' in 1948.

Another important decision was the Engel vs. Vitale case in 1962 which said that it for there to be recitation in public schools even though it was non-denominational. The Supreme Court has also ruled against posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms in 1978. Since the l 980's the Supreme Court has allowed religious groups to use university facilities for extracurricular meetings (1981) and in 1984 Congress enacted the Equal Access Act which means that religious groups as well as non-religious groups can have access to school premises during non instructional time. The idea to add an amendment to the Constitution has brought a lot of attention to the issue of religion in school.

The people in favor of the amendment probably don't like the way the Supreme Court ruled when it said in " Wallace vs. Jaffree' that it was unconstitutional to provide for a minute of silence because it endorsed State prayer activities. There are two views about this controversy. Those who are for an amendment in the Constitution to allow prayer in schools believe that the majority of Americans want prayers in school. A Readers Digest from 1993 showed that in a poll, 75% of the United States strongly favored prayer in the public schools and wished to restore it. Meet the people I call the 'Pro's'.

' Pros' feel that prayer in public schools will restore positive values in kids. In a world where Senator Jesse Helms states 'You can almost stand on the Capitol steps and throw a throw a rock into a neighborhood where you cannot walk at night,' O there is the need to improve the nation's values. These Pros feel that reciting prayers will help to restore respect for themselves and others. The Pros hope it will reduce the crime and instill morals that will improve their life. The other reason why the majority of the United States wants to regain the right to pray in schools because they feel that our founding fathers didn " tme an for such a strict separation of church and state. This meaning that they don't think the writers of the Constitution intended for there to be a law against praying in public schools.

All they were trying to do was keep all religions equal in the eyes of the government. The 'Pros' would say that it is the government's job to stay out of this area altogether and let the people decide what they want to do. There are many reasons why there should not be prayer in schools. The people that feel prayer is not necessary in schools are called 'OCons'O. They feel that prayer shouldn't be allowed in schools because religion doesn't have a place in school. Freedom of religion covers the right to worship or not worship but it does not belong in school.

It is not in the curriculum; therefore not required. Another objection to prayer in school is that there would be too many faiths to deal with and the generic or a universal 7 prayer might be meaningless. They also fear that a universal prayer would offend some people. On the other hand if the schools let the students meditate or pray it might lead to friction between students who want to pray and those who think its a waste of time. Some parents fear that their child might get picked on for the way they worship or how they dress.

The expression of religion might lead to more intolerance. These people agree religion in schools might lead to segregation and separation in schools. At one point before I researched this subject I believed that religion should be allowed in public school. But now I feel that it is not necessary and probably would be better off without it.

The schools have enough problems to deal with. Besides, school isn't a place of worship. It is a place of learning and I feel it should stay that way. I do feel that occasionally you should think of (in my case) God or who ever else you worship, but I don't think people need to go overboard and recite prayers as a class. Every Sunday I go to church for one hour. That amount of time and a prayer before dinner is enough to let my God know I love him.

Maybe in different religions they feel differently, but whatever people think I agree that worship time is worship time, and school time is school time. You can bet that religion is going to open up a whole new can of problems, so let's work with the cards we have now, before we deal some more. As we pass through the 104th Congress, House Speaker NewtGengrich has set a goal of passing a constitutional amendment by the 4th of July that promises that children in our public schools will have a right to voluntary prayer. Let's see if he succeeds. David R. Glasgow Core 7-2 Mrs. Roland May 2, 1994

Bibliography

Armstrong, James. 'Freedom of Religion. ' World Book Encyclopedia, 1991, Volume 4, p.
505. Ferguson, M.L. The American Principle of the Separation of Church and State. Waco, Texas, Baylor University Press, p. 45. ' Prayer In School-Still A Troubling Problem'. U.S. News &World Report, Feb. 8 1975, p.
101. Roth, Cecil. 'Religion in Public Schools'. Merit Student Encyclopedia, 1967, Volume 15, p.
146.'s should a School Prayer Constitutional Amendment be Approved by Congress?', Congressional Digest, January 1995, p.