Should Public Schools Begin The Day With A Silent Prayer Time?

Religion is one of the most controversial issues in society today. The concern of allowing prayer in schools is an on-going debate and has resulted in numerous lawsuits. Religious school clubs, after school activities, curriculums, and moments of silence during school are just a few of the court cases that judges have administered. People in favor of prayer in schools believe that their children can only learn certain values through religious practice. On the other hand, an individual against religious practice in schools views this issue as an infringement on his or her children’s rights as Americans.

Another issue has been the banning of public prayer in schools. It was decided that public prayer should be outlawed in the Supreme Court case Engel v. Vitale. (Schlafly et al. 150) Some people could understand this as it is not right to make prayer mandatory in school, when there are people who don’t believe in any religion. What might get some people is what was decided in 1962 by the Supreme Court,”… even a voluntary, non-denominational school prayer led by a public school official violated the Establishment Clause of the First Ammendment.” (Merino 8) Many people might wonder why prayer in school, if held on a voluntary basis, is bad. Why shouldn’t the kids who want to participate in prayer at school not be allowed to? One reason could be that the school officials don’t want to put a target on kid’s backs. For example, if everyone but one kid did partake in prayer that kid may get bullied or questioned or at the very least feel left out. The same could be true if only one kid went to prayer, that child could feel targeted and awkward. Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, which took place in 2000, decided that any individual could pray at

“Since prayer was removed from public school classrooms in 1962, we have had a 6-fold increase in violent crime, our divorce rate has tripled,births to single mothers have increased 5-fold, the teenage suicide rate has tripled, and SAT scores have dropped 10%.(Creation Today). Reasons that represent why prayer and moments of silence should be allowed in the public school system will be expressed. This essay will represent the affirmative stance when regarding this topic of school wide prayer and moments of silence.

There is a controversial debate about daily prayer in school. Some people look at a general overview of the religion in school, some look at the political and governmental views, and some look at the statistical side of daily prayer in school or prayer at other school functions. Research shows that there are several different point of views on what type of religion to allow or what not to allow when it comes to religion. Schools are bad about not letting students and teacher have a small devotion. Public schools should allow the practice of prayer or any type of religious use within the school facilities. There are all sorts of religion, why not practice them all?

School prayer is a very controversial issue in today’s society. The issue of school prayer is about whether the public school systems should let the students pray, at the start of the school day, as a class. The issue of school prayer began in the late sixteenth century when people in England did not approve of the way one religion was forced upon them, so the Puritans, known as the Pilgrims decided to come to the colonies. Even in the colonies the Pilgrims had problems with religion they had to sometimes resort to highly creative strategies in order to pray. When people were caught having a secret service they would have to face the consequences that the law enforced, whether it was going

This essay is composed of facts supporting that prayer in Public Schools would be beneficial for the children and the United States of America. Prayer is an address to God or a god in word or thoughts. The Anti- Defamation League states that, “A moment of silence will inevitably be unconstitutional or the purpose and effect of such moments of silence are invariably to advance religion. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down requiring a moment of silence which students could use for silent prayer or meditation because it was enacted for the purpose of advancing religion. The Supreme Court has not determined if a moment of silence can ever be

In the first amendment, it is stated that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the exercise thereof.”. From this, it made clear that the founding fathers’ original intent was for the Government to take a neutral position with respect to religion; the Government was not to favor any one religion over another. “Almighty God we acknowledge our independence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parent, our teachers and our Country. Amen.” In 1951, that prayer was conducted in class every morning in all New York public schools as ordered by New York State Board of Regents; it was called a “nondenominational prayer”. The short prayer was created with the intent of developing students’ moral

For centuries, the debate has existed whether or not to allow prayer in public schools. Many Americans feel it is not right of the schools to teach religion. With all the diversity associated with the United States, public schools cannot select one standard religion to practice, due to the cultural and religious differences in the country. Not only are schools the storm center of controversy involving religious differences, they are the principal institution charged with transmitting the identity and mission of the United States from one generation to the next. If we fail in our school policies and classrooms to model and to teach how to live with differences, we endanger our experiment in religious liberty and our

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.

For that reason, they must comply with the First Amendment. This means that although they can communicate about the inspirations of religion in the past, writings and reasoning they can't encourage religious beliefs or observe it as a portion of the core curriculum. Subsequently isolated and provincial schools aren't run by the government, the First Amendment doesn't relate to them. Correspondingly, students can be exempted from some school events if they cause a problem with their spiritual opinions. It is up to the district to allow teachers to start the day or a meeting with a prayer although prayers, biblical interpretations and megaphone religious zeal disrupt the First Amendment because they encourage religion. This is correct even if the request is professing no faith or any specific religion. Moments of silence might be unconstitutional it depends on whether or not the real reason they're being held is to encourage prayer. Every single student have the right to pray whenever they want to, as long as they don't disturb classroom education or additional instructive events or attempt to coercion of others to pray alongside them. If a school official has expressed to you that you can't pray by no means during the school day, your right to use and choose your religion is being

Allowing prayer in public schools remains a divisive and extremely passionate issue for various individuals. Americans have voted against the guiding principles for prayer in school, but the question, "should prayer be allowed in school?" continues to arise. Prayer in public schools has become one of the most controversial issues in the United States today. What keeps this matter boiling is the fear that a child will be influenced, or even worse, “offended” by another’s spiritual beliefs. By removing school prayer, the U.S Supreme Court has misconstrued the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. In order to protect our neighbor’s feelings, we have replaced the ingredients of religion and prayer in our schools with teen pregnancy, increased alcohol and drug use, sex, suicide, school shootings, and last but not least, an excessive amount of entitlement. Our children need something bigger than themselves to turn to when they are faced with difficult times. A simple two minute moment of silence would allow believers and non-believers the opportunity to meditate each morning and set the mood for the remainder of the day.

Those who are for prayer being allowed in public schools believe that it is illegal to prohibit students from doing so. Many will argue that it is a violation of student 's right to not allow them pray during school hours. For instance, “The new law requires public schools to develop policies that will allow students to pray

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.

The issue of school prayer is not one of religious freedom, as it is already legal for children to pray in school, either individually or in groups. Since the Engel decision in 1962, religious advocates have been assailing the Supreme Court for "taking God out of the classroom." In an effort to reverse this trend, conservative religious groups have been fighting for the passage of a school prayer amendment to gain greater leeway for religious activities in schools.

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.