The Role Of Prayer In Public Schools

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

The first clause of the first amendment to the United States Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (“First Amendment” 1). In Santa Fe, Texas, a student “chaplain” was elected by his or her classmates to give pre-game prayers at high school home football games over the school’s public address system. Two mothers sued, arguing that these prayers were an endorsement of religion, which violated the Establishment Clause of the first amendment. The school district countered that the pre-game invocations were a long-standing tradition in Texas communities, and because the prayer came from a student, it was

Since the founding of America, there has been concern with the church manipulating government. The separation of Church and State was to make sure the church did not become more powerful than government. In spite of wanting a separation of church and state, The United States of America became one nation under God. The earliest test of the separation of church and state with respect to education is McCollum versus Board of Education. This was a landmark case the United States Supreme Court in 1948 ended the power of a state to use its tax-supported public school system in aid of religious instruction. “The court case which prohibited the state from sponsoring specific prayers in public schools was Engel v. Vitale, decided in 1962 by an 8-1 vote.” (Cline p) It is unconstitutional to compose a school prayer and make students repeat it daily. Although these cases protect our religious freedoms, there is some fear that expelling God from public school has adverse effects. God can still be present; teachers can lead by example and teach behaviors and ethics that

It is not coincidental that there has been an increase in births to single mothers, divorce rates tripling, and teenage suicide increasing. Allowing prayer in schools has set valuable standards and morals for graduates and current pupils. Currently ninety percent of the countries kids are enrolled in the public school system being influenced every single day they are present. Proven by previously mentioned statistics, the majority of morals clearly dropped after the removal of prayer in public schools in 1962. Without prayer, people have become more and more obliterate to God-based values, this causes people to neglect crucial things such as the sacredness of marriage. “After 1963 divorces increased by 300% each following year”(Prayer in America) Many argue and take to the opposition that marriage is just a piece of paper, when in all generality, it is a gift from God. Single mothers, sexually transmitted diseases, divorces, violent crimes, and teen suicide

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

The Union Free School District No.9 (also known as the Herricks School District), in New Hyde Park, New York, voted in favor of adopting this prayer into their public schools. Parents of ten pupils attending schools in this school district, sued the school board, saying that the prayer went against their religious views and the First Amendment to the Constitution, specifically the Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law, "respecting the establishment of religion." To say that the Regent's prayer is unconstitutional is an oxymoron in itself, for this

The general argument made by Avi Selk in his work, “Texas AG sued to keep a Bible quote in school. Now he’s troubled by Muslim prayers.”, is that religious freedom is a constitutional right that should be up help in public schools for anyone who wishes to use it. More specifically, Selk argues that Liberty High School in Frisco, Texas should be able to accommodate for students who want to pray of any religion in an empty, spare room in the school. He writes, “‘All sorts of folks use it,’ school district spokesman Chris Moore told The Washington Post on Saturday. ‘Muslims pray, Baptists pray, Catholics pray, Buddhists pray, Hindu students pray.’” (Selk, 2017). In this passage, Selk is showing how the spokesman for the school stands behind, and

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

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.

Many public schools do not approve of prayer in the populated, student-filled environment. The definition of prayer is” a devout petition to God or an object of worship”(Dictionary). While private schools are capable of creating their own rules an regulations regarding religious practices such as prayer, public schools, as they are regulated by the state and federal government, are not able to create these regulations on their own. This creates the argument of whether or not public display of religious practices such as prayer should be legalized by state as well as national school board agencies. Although Prayer has many benefits, it is still a choice; Prayer is not forced, it’s an individual choice, and the First Amendment states freedom of religion.

These cases help us realize the extent of how much is allowed and how much is prohibited. Prayer in school can be a controversial topic, with many overlapping matters and the line between what is acceptable religious expression, and what is not, is a line that gets blurry and is misunderstood. As the courts have reiterated the First Amendment does not relegate public schools as religiously void place. The main point made throughout these landmark cases is that a school cannot encourage or endorse prayer or religion, but cannot discriminate private prayers or religious acts. At many public schools, students of all different faiths, can be seen expressing their religion, whether it be students praying before their meals, wearing religious clothing, or attending religion-oriented meetings after school. Many opinion articles say that having religion in public is great because of the diversity of thought and ideas, as well as a cultivation of the minds of a student. They argue that prayer in schools will lead to more respected and moralized citizens. Prayer has been known to be a way to meditate and express oneself and show humility. People say that this can curb the violence and abuse rate in school and calm students. Others argue that prayer has no place in a public education and that it should be left behind at the door of the school. Their argument is that school is a place for education, so why should religion be a part of it? They also argue that prayers can make kids think

Other individuals have a different on opinion on the matter and feel that having prayer in school would be a positive attribute. In 1962, there was the Engle decision which focused on “Taking God out of the classroom.” Many, often times religious conservative groups, have been fighting for a passage