Prayer In Public Schools
Prayer in public schools has always been a “hot” and controversial topic. It is very emotional, and that makes people passionate about this subject. Prayer should never be included in public schools; prayer in the classroom deviates from the Founding Father’s vision, excludes other religious activities/rituals and ostracizes individuals who do not participate in prayer in the classroom. For generations, children have said the Pledge of Allegiance in school, but many people might not know that the words “under God” were added to this declaration (Gaylor), in 1954. Many consider Atheism as unpatriotic and ‘un-American’ as is communism” (Robinson). This simplistic mind set must have the Founding Fathers spinning in their graves; they saw
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What about Hindu prayers? Judaism? Jainism? Native American rites? Wicca? All are recognized religions; there are people who pray to Satan—should that be part of the curriculum as well? Advocates of school prayer are invariably Christian, and so they feel comfortable with the idea of their children reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Clearly, it is impossible in a society as diverse as the United States to devise a prayer that will be suitable for everyone. Any prayer that would appeal to everyone would be so bland as to be meaningless, as always happens when we go to the lowest common denominator. It’s far better that we continue to keep prayer out of the public school system. When religion comes into public schools, ugly things can happen. It has “singled out the lone Jewish student, the class Unitarian or agnostic, the children in the minority. Families who protest state/ church violations in our public schools invariably experience persecution” (Gaylor). When parents brought suit against prayer in schools, their children were beaten up, the families “subjected to community harassment and death threats for speaking out in defense of a constitutional principle”
What about Hindu prayers? Judaism? Jainism? Native American rites? Wicca? All are recognized religions; there are people who pray to Satan—should that be part of the curriculum as well? Advocates of school prayer are invariably Christian, and so they feel comfortable with the idea of their children reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Clearly, it is impossible in a society as diverse as the United States to devise a prayer that will be suitable for everyone. Any prayer that would appeal to everyone would be so bland as to be meaningless, as always happens when we go to the lowest common denominator. It’s far better that we continue to keep prayer out of the public school system. When religion comes into public schools, ugly things can happen. It has “singled out the lone Jewish student, the class Unitarian or agnostic, the children in the minority. Families who protest state/ church violations in our public schools invariably experience persecution” (Gaylor). When parents brought suit against prayer in schools, their children were beaten up, the families “subjected to community harassment and death threats for speaking out in defense of a constitutional principle”