Religion In Public Schools example essay topic

Religion in Public School sAre you religious? Do you have children? What kind of environment would you like your child in while he / she is in school? A century ago, most of America's public schools were religious schools.

Over time the state has redesigned schools in order to make schools for all children and not alienate any students. The Supreme Court then accelerated the movement in 1962 when it declared that prayer in public schools was unconstitutional. Then one year later the court removed all bible reading from public school because it is a religious exercise There is no clear line between what instructors are aloud to teach in school and what they are not aloud to teach, so many laws have been written and changed. In 1995 35 agencies representing 10 religions and ethical systems wrote "Religion in Public Schools" which was a joint statement of current laws stating that religions aloud to be taught in public schools, but only if it is serving an educational purpose. web bibl 1. htm Yet what about the Supreme Court ruled out all bible reading in school, but here it states that it is legal, what law are we the people supposed to follow? The main controversy is which side the constitution is on. The first amendment states that you have the right to freedom of religion.

This would mean that religion should not be aloud in school because not every American shares the same religious belief. The first amendment also states that you have the freedom to practice this religion anywhere you choose. This meaning, that students should be aloud to practice their religious beliefs any time, even if they are in a public school. "Public schools have really become a place of neutral ground", says senator Tom Daschle Daschle also stated that although he learned his values as an alter boy at Sacred Heart School, he believes in separation of church and state, because children may take part in something out of the mainstream.

"I don't think I want my children to say a prayer written by Sun My ang Moon", Daschle said, referring to the religious leader who was recently convicted of tax evasion and declared himself the messiah. House representative John Thune believes differently, saying every school district should be allowed to decide whether to let students take part in voluntary prayer and other religious activities. Thune objected to Daschle's statement saying that school districts would never allow prayers by Moon or others outside the mainstream. Among the issues of religion in schools, prayer is the largest debated. Many believe crime and teen pregnancy will drop if prayer and bible reading is put back into the public school system. Saying these are solutions to a range of teen problems and one of the only ways to teach values and ethics (1 "The biggest mistake our country has ever made was on June 25th, 1962 when the Supreme Court forebode 39 million students from praying as their fathers and the fathers of their fathers did before them", said D.L. Moody at a regular Sunday meeting.

Somewhere in between there is a balance to the amount of religion put into public school, but this balance will never keep the peace between the groups on both sides of this never ending battle. "Public schools can neither foster religion nor preclude it. Our public schools must treat religion with fairness and respect and vigorously protect religious expression as well as the freedom of conscience of all other students. In so doing our public schools reaffirm the First Amendment and enrich the lives of their students", Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. (2.