Prayer in School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Prayer in School - Essay Example I think that the government should be focused on the school's academics, not what religion they are to study. The proposed amendments would cause nothing but trouble considering that there would be many arguments on what beliefs should be taught. Religion is private and schools are public. Having any prayer in school goes against the basis in which our country was formed upon. America came into being because colonists wanted religious freedom. Our founding fathers carefully wrote the constitution to grant the freedom of separation of church and state. A prayer created and supported by a government violate the very essence of the spirit in which the US was formed. It was not until 1962, in the case of Engel v. Vitale, that the Supreme Court ruled that the voluntary prayer used to begin the day in New York public schools was unconstitutional. [Paul D. Kauper, 1963] The prayer, created by the New York Board of Regents, read, "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence on Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country."[Geoffrey R. Stone, 1983] The decision to ban school-sponsored prayer was "so unpopular that many school districts simply have disregarded it."[Greenawalt] In fact, a 1980 American National Election Study found that 72.1% of Americans believe that schools should be allowed to start each day with a prayer.[Kirk W. Elifson and C. Kirk Hadaway] Since the banning of organized prayer in public schools in 1962, the nation has been in steady moral decline. Divorce rates, teen pregnancy, violent crime, and drug use have all increased. Many school prayer supporters believe there is a direct correlation between the removal of prayer from public schools and the decline of morality. Religious conservatives are convinced that religious influence in the schools is necessary to teach students morals and values. Through their rulings, the court has also defined some times and conditions under which public school students may pray, or otherwise practice a religion at any time before, during or after the school-day, as long as your prayers do not interfere with other students. In meetings of organized prayer or worship groups, either informally or as a formal school organization. Before eating a meal at school -- as long as the prayer does not disturb other students. In some states, student-led prayers or invocations are still delivered at graduations due to lower court rulings. [Geoffrey R Stone] However, the Supreme Court's ruling of June 19, 2000 may bring this practice to an end. Some states provide for a daily "moment of silence" to be observed as long as students are not encouraged to "pray" during the silent period. As society goes we have things we would be better suited addressing than whether or not kids get to go to a crusade. Kids seem to have a better handle on it than we adults. If your kid gets out of school two hours to hear a nondenominational sermon why are you concerned There are far worse things for your kid to get out of school for. If your religion does not believe in a God then your kid should be firmly grounded in your faith that he cannot be swayed by listening to this. [Riley M. Sinder & John K. Lopker] Prayers in public school should be allowed as it may inculcate the belief that God exists. In today's world, many are turning out to be infidel and many are following