School Prayer The Rise Of A Church State Or Freedom

Constitution's First Amendment requirement that the District neither establish religion in the schools nor prohibit students’ free exercise of religion according to pertinent interpretation and application of those constitutional provisions by the courts. Any religious characters need to conform to policy 8800” (Markesan District School, 2013). “Decisions of the United States Supreme Court have made it clear that it is not the province of a public school to advance or inhibit religious beliefs or practices” (Markesan District School, 2015). Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, this remains the “inviolate province of the individual and the church of his/her choice. The rights of any minority, no matter how small, must be protected. District staff members shall not use prayer, religious readings, or religious symbols as a devotional exercise or in an act of worship or celebration” (20 U.S.C. 4071 et seq.) (Markesan District School, 2015). Having examined the Markesan District School First Amendment related to this topic the next step is to conclude my research on this topic.

The First Amendment is designed to protect all citizens by giving them the right to express themselves in different ways. In doing so, we still have to be careful on how we do it. Students have the right to express themselves as long as it does not cause any disruption. In my school district, we abides by the First Amendment by not forbidding all mention of religion in the school system (Pamlico County Board of Education, 2015). The only part that is prohibited is the advancement or inhibition of religion (Pamlico County Board of Education, 2015). My school district feels that there’s nothing unconstitutional about using religious subjects or materials as long as it is in compliance to the neutrality of the education program (Pamlico County Board of Education, 2015).

“Our government has been based on religious principles since the very beginning. The Declaration says,” We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by certain unalienable rights…”.” This shows that our constitution, made for independence, wants the American people to keep God with them in everything they do. Even George Washington declared that U.S. citizens need to obey God and his will. George Washington was the first president of the United States. If he wanted the people to listen to God and obey his will, why change that now? Religion in school is not harmful in anyway. People can get talked about and bullied for their religion they practice. That is life and no one should be judged because of their religion they practice or live with. This is a free country and religion in school would not only help the students and teachers, who do not know much about religion but help people to have a better understanding and respect for other people's culture. Maybe, some people prefer not to pray at school, which is not a problem. Prayer would not be mandatory. Everyone's prayers are different; students would not be forced to say their prayer. Only if they want to. “...the supreme court did not “remove prayer from public schools.” The court removed only government sponsored worship (“Ten Reasons”

Freedom of Religion means that the government can’t force you to accept only one set of religious beliefs or the way you worship. You can worship your own way and have your own religious beliefs as long as they don’t violate other people's rights. Today this is a very big debate when it comes to prayer and schools. Several cases have been brought to the Supreme Court about this and whether students have the right to pray in class or if the prayer would interfere with another student’s rights.

And the list goes on! “It appears that teaching morals has a very positive impact on education.” George Washington, our first President of these United States wrote- Only a virtuous people is capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they need more need of masters. Whereas true religion and good morals are the only solid foundations of public liberty and happiness…..it is hear by earnestly recommended to the several States to take the most effectual measures for the encouragement

Take a moment to recall some of the patriotic symbols that help embody the spirit of our nation: the bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty, or even the national anthem. Among others promoting the civic duties and democratic virtues prized by our American society, nothing has caused as much controversy as the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools. At the start of a new school day, every classroom of a government run school would be ringing with the chorus of America’s youth delivering the pledge in an almost autonomous way. The reason why this is such a big deal is due to the fact that to some, including myself, believe the words “under God” suggests a breach of the first amendment. As of late, our country has been in the

A controversial issue I’ve seen pop up within the past few years, is that of the pledge of allegiance being said in classes. As with prayer in schools, the issue that people have is that they claim it is unconstitutional as the phrase “under god” violates the first amendment right to freedom of religion. The opposing view point argues that it is disrespectful and unpatriotic to not say the pledge, as people have died to protect us. Another point made against the view that it violates the first amendment, is that it only states “under god” not pointing to one specific religion. This debate has been going on since the early 2000’s. several appeals have been filed to the supreme court as seen in Newdow v. U.S. congress. Where Michael Newdow tried

One of the most highly debated aspects of American life and liberty is religion. America’s foundation is based upon the idea that religion should be a freedom and a choice of the person involved, not a requirement by the government. Yet religion is one of the very things to United States was founded on. In the last half of the 20th century, the differing opinions Americans held on religious conviction became an ongoing debate on where and when is the right time to observe one’s faith. Most notably this debate extended to the public schools. One of the most prominent cases was that of Engel v. Vitale. The court case of Engel v. Vitale became known as the School Prayer decision and was the first of its kind in the American judicial

The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guarantees its citizens freedom of religion, free speech, a free press, the right to peacefully assemble and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. A public high principal holds a position of oversight of a government run facility. A public school principal has a duty to uphold the Constitution. A high school principal may allow students to continue a tradition of beginning graduation ceremonies with prayer, as long as certain conditions are met. The students (not the school or any of its employees) must initiate the prayer. A student (not a teacher or school employee) must be the one to recite the prayer. Students must be allowed to participant voluntarily when praying. Any student who elects to remain silent or asks to be excused during the prayer must not be sanctioned or punished for their non-participation. Essex (2012) states, “If student prayer is initiated solely by students with no coercion or involvement by school personnel, it is permissible and does not violation the separation of church-state in the First Amendment” (p. 176).

Should prayer be allowed in public schools? This is a question with a highly controversial answer. There are many different angles to this question with varying ideas and opinions that never seem to agree with one another. The issue of prayer in public schools has, and will continue to be, at the center of many controversial debates. Just consider the fact that public educational system in United States is a secular or non-religious one that is quick to shut down any religious actions. This is the main reason why it is so difficult to bring forth any kind of change that will bridge the gap between school and religion. There have been several attempts over the years to use the power of the first amendment of the United States constitution which expresses the right to freedom of speech and religion to justify prayer in schools. Although the first amendment clearly sets out to protect religion from government intervention, the U.S Supreme court has ruled prayer in public school “unconstitutional” because it violates the separation of the church and the state.

I concur the first amendment protects students right to express themselves in various distinctive school environment such as during discussions, and interaction with their peers. Moreover, public schools cannot prevent student’s ability to pray and learned about diverse religion in the curriculum.

How can we say that the United States is a free country when we can not openly express our religious beliefs in public? Prayer within public schools has begun a significant debate amongst people in society today. This has been a controversial topic in the United States for approximately over 50 years. Many argue whether or not it is socially appropriate to have education and religion in the same place. People have made various reasons about why or why not prayer should be prohibited in public schools. There have been countless court cases and discussions all over the nation regarding this topic. According to Karen Ridder, “A prayer in New York caused the first U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on prayer in public schools: Even though it was the middle of the Cold War, a non-denominational, optional prayer known as The Regent’s Prayer got caught up in the 1962 case of Engle v. Vitale” (Ridder). This comes to show how the prohibition of school prayer has been an issue for a significant amount of time. While this is a very disputatious topic, prayer should be allowed in public schools because students should be able to freely express their beliefs.

Most individuals on the liberal spectrum tend to agree with the courts when it declared government sponsored prayers are unconstitutional. The less conservative individuals show a tendency to believe that any amendment that allows for voluntary prayer would contradict the first amendment guarantee against government establishment of religion. Most on the liberal spectrum or those that feel the government does not have enough power feel that any sort of Government action to allow voluntary prayer in schools could be at the cost of the civil rights of students. It is believed that any amendment or law consenting for voluntary prayer would diminish the very heart of the Bill of Rights; which protects the rights of people from the oppression from the majority. Those that do not allow or want to allow prayer in school think that any amendment affirming that prayer should be allowed in school would actually introduce assembled prayer or force persons into prayer. Those that clash with prayer in school fear that judgement against those that do not participate in school prayer. Those in the small percentage that do not want to participate would be obligated to follow to a belief or ritual that which they do not believe. This could cause the individual to suffer the humiliation or burden of submitting a day-to-day spiritual exercise continuously in order to avoid being singled out by mainstream colleagues and educators.

Prayer plays such a big role in many people’s lives. It happens each and every day and multiple times throughout the day. Even though it can play a huge role in someone’s life, it cannot be practiced in schools. Prayer in school has been a very controversial topic for many years. According to Steven K. Green, “On June 25, 1962, the United States Supreme Court decided in Engel v. Vitale that a prayer approved by the New York Board of Regents for use in schools violated the First Amendment by constituting an establishment of religion (Green 1).” It has since then been taken out of school preventing teachers to preach or teach about religion.

Religion in Schools has proven to be a very controversial matter as of lately. Even though teaching about religion is allowed in public schools, there are still many questions that are being asked in order to provide a basis of what is appropriate for school, and what is inappropriate. The first amendment to the United States Constitution says that 'congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof' which implies that you have the choice of exercising your own religion, no matter what it may be. However, this poses an interesting argument within the public schools of America because we have such a diverse population with