Prayer in School: Good or Bad?Essay Preview: Prayer in School: Good or Bad?Report this essayPrayer in School: Good or Bad?COMM 215Essentials of College WritingSteven LabryApril 16, 2007Lorretta ZacheryPrayer in School: Good or Bad?Perhaps no aspect of the church-state controversy arouses more emotion and discussion than the subject of prayer in the public schools. After all, public schools are supported with taxpayer money. What believer would want his taxes to support an institution that prohibits his children from praying? What nonbeliever would want her taxes to support an institution that requires her children to participate in prayer?
Fortunately, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects both believers and nonbelievers from such a situation by mandating government neutrality between belief and unbelief. The government–through its proxy, the educators and administrators who facilitate our schools–cannot lead children in prayer or force them to pray a certain way. However, all children have the right to pray voluntarily before, during, or after school, and nonreligious children do not have to pray at all.
Some unbelievers think that they know better than the Founding Fathers and want to tamper with the Bill of Rights. They want to amend the U.S. Constitution, and have begun a campaign so that the Government would legally refuse to sponsor or support prayer during any public school activity. Students should always have the right to pray and read the Bible in public schools; no one should suggest that that right be taken from them.
As secular humanists and groups like the Christian Coalition are at war with each other regarding prayer in high schools behind closed doors in Washington DC, the average school kid is the one that gets caught in the middle. Prayer has been taken out of the schools, which in turn has made way for the drugs, sex, , knives and guns, disrespect for authorities, etc.
For years now there has been a heated debate about whether or not prayer should be allowed in school. Every time the argument is rekindled, it ends in a stalemate, and is a topic that campaigning politicians tend to stay away from. No one wants to take a stand these days.
In the beginning, the argument was whether or not the school day should be started with a prayer over the PA system of school. This didnt last long, as anyone can see that there is so much diversity between the religious beliefs of high school kids today. The argument then moved on to replace “prayer” with moment of silence.”
Those in favor of prayer in school pose several arguments. They say it will increase tolerance in schools, as children learn of different religions and how they practice. Many feel it will bring to surface the personal questions kids have about God and religion and allow them to search for their own belief system. The most common however, is the argument that bringing prayer back to schools will help reverse the moral degradation of this country. As the Reverend Jeffery L. Osgood, pastor of the First southern Baptist Church in Dover wrote, “Back in 1962, when prayer was removed by the Supreme Court, something happened to Americas soul and Americas schools. Our nation became increasingly secular and less tolerant of moral standards and values. Since America became to proud to pray to the God of Heaven who created us, we have been reaping the rewards. Crime is way up. The family has broken up. The test scores of students have taken a submarine dive. Its time for a change!” 1995
Religious leaders say that the lack of prayer in schools is a sign that America is failing to educate its young people. In fact, in an interview with WLWT in March 1996, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church Charles R. Fagan said: “We are in danger if we do not make the connection between the growth of the nation’s economy and the failure of our schools. Our teachers are doing something that the American public doesn’t allow them to be doing or want them to do.” When I asked him if any religious leaders would join him in urging a boycott, he replied “There is a long way to go before there is a solution.” Some believe it is time for teachers to learn to pray for others. But if a boycott is not made that is one thing. But is prayer a valid answer? “ 1995
In 2003, a U.S. Senate committee concluded that, given the continued presence of high prayer rates, “It is impossible for the President’s ability to have the authority to enforce the laws and regulations put in place by Congress to keep faith,” and noted the “crisis in the lives of U.S. communities through the growing number of children being baptized without prayer or instruction.” When the committee’s findings came out that more than 8,000 children were baptized in a year (under the same program), that figure was more than enough to drive a boycott away from the Obama Presidency. However, the report suggested that the number of Christians baptizing without prayer in the U.S. should be cut back. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued guidance arguing that the more than half a million non-Catholic Christians in the U.S. are Catholic. A 2002 poll by the National Catholic Conference found that nearly one in five Americans believes that God created us, while only 10% believe there are any “other” truths or ideas in our modern world “which do not come from a Christian source.” Among those who support a boycott is Dr. Robert D. Denton. “Although no religion teaches you God exists, we do know that God created you to be,” he wrote in a 2009 study published in the United Methodist Journal, where he said the “biggest problem” of America’s schools was the lack of prayer. “In many classrooms, we cannot stop every single class of Americans from getting out of bed, and even those who do, will be confronted by the same teachers who put them to sleep. … Our schools are the antithesis of God. … We get bored, and our children learn the lessons that we aren’t taught.”
As I listened to Dr. Denton’s interview last year, there was a deep reverence for the American traditions and traditions.
Some religious leaders have long since called on their congregations to stop going to prayer at school every day. To this day, many school staff members and teachers still perform their jobs as part-time teachers in the classroom every single day.
Another issue they face as they take a break from praying is that prayer worships an evil, evil religion. The recent news of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA, have sparked more debate here than in the United States. In recent months other religious studies have been undertaken in Israel-Gaza and elsewhere. Religious groups and groups like the Israel Democracy Project, for instance, have asked Israel’s government to help build a mosque in the Golan Heights.
For their part, the Rev. Michael K. Guevara, Senior Pastor of Mennonite Church of Southern California in Calvert, wrote recently :
I am aware that many churches pray as a response to my prayers. However, I have seen no evidence of any particular reason why this would be the case. Perhaps a prayer that has been prayed
Religious leaders say that the lack of prayer in schools is a sign that America is failing to educate its young people. In fact, in an interview with WLWT in March 1996, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church Charles R. Fagan said: “We are in danger if we do not make the connection between the growth of the nation’s economy and the failure of our schools. Our teachers are doing something that the American public doesn’t allow them to be doing or want them to do.” When I asked him if any religious leaders would join him in urging a boycott, he replied “There is a long way to go before there is a solution.” Some believe it is time for teachers to learn to pray for others. But if a boycott is not made that is one thing. But is prayer a valid answer? “ 1995
In 2003, a U.S. Senate committee concluded that, given the continued presence of high prayer rates, “It is impossible for the President’s ability to have the authority to enforce the laws and regulations put in place by Congress to keep faith,” and noted the “crisis in the lives of U.S. communities through the growing number of children being baptized without prayer or instruction.” When the committee’s findings came out that more than 8,000 children were baptized in a year (under the same program), that figure was more than enough to drive a boycott away from the Obama Presidency. However, the report suggested that the number of Christians baptizing without prayer in the U.S. should be cut back. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued guidance arguing that the more than half a million non-Catholic Christians in the U.S. are Catholic. A 2002 poll by the National Catholic Conference found that nearly one in five Americans believes that God created us, while only 10% believe there are any “other” truths or ideas in our modern world “which do not come from a Christian source.” Among those who support a boycott is Dr. Robert D. Denton. “Although no religion teaches you God exists, we do know that God created you to be,” he wrote in a 2009 study published in the United Methodist Journal, where he said the “biggest problem” of America’s schools was the lack of prayer. “In many classrooms, we cannot stop every single class of Americans from getting out of bed, and even those who do, will be confronted by the same teachers who put them to sleep. … Our schools are the antithesis of God. … We get bored, and our children learn the lessons that we aren’t taught.”
As I listened to Dr. Denton’s interview last year, there was a deep reverence for the American traditions and traditions.
Some religious leaders have long since called on their congregations to stop going to prayer at school every day. To this day, many school staff members and teachers still perform their jobs as part-time teachers in the classroom every single day.
Another issue they face as they take a break from praying is that prayer worships an evil, evil religion. The recent news of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA, have sparked more debate here than in the United States. In recent months other religious studies have been undertaken in Israel-Gaza and elsewhere. Religious groups and groups like the Israel Democracy Project, for instance, have asked Israel’s government to help build a mosque in the Golan Heights.
For their part, the Rev. Michael K. Guevara, Senior Pastor of Mennonite Church of Southern California in Calvert, wrote recently :
I am aware that many churches pray as a response to my prayers. However, I have seen no evidence of any particular reason why this would be the case. Perhaps a prayer that has been prayed
On the other hand, Secular Humanists, have several arguments focusing on why prayer in schools is a bad idea. They state that public schools exist to educate, not to proselytize. Children in public schools are a captive audience. Making prayer an official part of the school day is coercive and