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The Issue of School Prayer

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The issue of school prayer has been a thorny one in the United States for many years now. In the beginning of the nineteenth century readings of the Bible and prayer were common practices in public schools. However prayer was banned in 1962 due to claims that it was violating the First Amendment right that the government was not allowed to support religion, and from then on the Supreme Court has ruled against any and all forms of prayer in schools. Schools cannot however ban students from praying in school and it is against the law to deny a student of his or her own personal beliefs. To this day prayers are said at special events such as ballgames, graduations, and the daily moment of silence, but these are sometimes frowned upon because people find public prayer offensive (At Issue: School Prayer). Praying in schools should be allowed for those who want to do it because it should not be about pleasing those who do or don’t have certain beliefs. It should be up to the student to decide whether he or she wants to pray in school. Both religious and nonreligious students should be allowed to coexist and not have to sacrifice religious practices so satisfy the other. Arguments can be made in favor for both parties. The most important factor though, to consider here is that the First Amendment still stands that everyone should have freedom of religion whether they choose to take it or not. There is no possible way to determine whether or not the absence of religion is at fault

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