Essay about The Constitutionality of Prayer - 846 Words

The question of the constitutionality of prayer in our public schools and public school system has been an ongoing controversy for the past three decades. There is only one way to end the controversy, and it is pertinent to the well being of our youth and our nation. We must keep church and state forever separate. Any form of prayer in the public school system is an explicit violation of the first amendment, is coercive, and harmful to not only our nations children, but to the nation itself. The question of prayer in school should never have even been a question, and the fact that it remains three decades later is nothing short of unfaithful to the constitution. One could even go so far as to call this issue unpatriotic, as we are†¦show more content†¦Or, take it from Thomas Jefferson. As he put it, the First Amendment serves in part to build â€Å"a wall of separation between church and state† (Gaylor). Any way you put it it is clear to see that the First Amendment was created to keep church and state separate, and allowing prayer in our public schools is an obvious violation to the intentions of the creators of the Constitution. There is no possible way one could misinterpret the intentions of our forefathers when they wrote the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment forbids government funded religious activity. Public Schools are government funded, and prayer is a religious activity. Therefore, according to our constitution, prayer has no place in our public schools. This is not to say that a Christian child cannot pray to God, or a Muslim child cannot pray to Allah, they just cannot do so during the time spent at school or during school functions. This leaves the average elementary to high school student with a good 130 hours a week to do their worshiping, and this does not even include weekends (Education). If the amendment itself is not clear enough, maybe a little history is. No one can argue that our founders made America home in pursuit of religious freedom. This is fact. America was created when our founding fathers fled religious persecution from their own government. Since the beginning America has been a religious mosaic, blending Christians with Catholics andShow MoreRelatedThe Constitutionality of Prayer in Public Schools Essay698 Words   |  3 PagesMany people agree against prayer in public schools, while others think that people should be able to express their religion in their own ways. In public schools, they are not allowed to hold prayers at all during the school day due to the mixed religion students that are attending the school. Over the past few years, this has become an extremely controversial issue in our nation. Many people find it proper to pray in school but many people also agree that it is extremely wrong and that if thereRead MoreShould Prayer Be Allowed? School?1623 Words   |  7 Pagesgovernment is too powerful and those that would agree that prayer should be allowed in school. On th e flip side to that those that feel the government does not have enough power and tend to disagree with pear being allowed in school. Based off articles researched and statistics gathered as well summarized it can be determined that those that are of the conservative and or republican party tend to feel that the government should not have a say in prayer in school. This may be because of religious preferenceRead MoreAlabama V. Jaffree ( 1985 )1737 Words   |  7 PagesAlabama statute 16-1-20.1, allowing a period of silence for meditation or voluntary prayer violate the First Amendment Establishment Clause that is applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment? Facts of the Case: The case of Wallace v. 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They sued in the New York State Supreme Court and later appealedRead MoreEssay on Is America Really the Home of the Free?2251 Words   |  10 PagesAnother 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, †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ even a voluntary, non-denominational school prayer led by a public school official violated theRead MoreThe Reflection Of Francis Bellamys Pledge Of Allegiance1092 Words   |  5 Pagesendorses religion or not, but the results do show that the citizens would not want to make a change either way. Throughout nearly 70 years, cases on the issue have gradually increased. Current court systems are pressured with the questioned constitutionality of Eisenhowers inclusion as a variety of religions begin to gain support through religious tolerance, expressing such in court. Cases indirect to the issue have occurred as well which uses and manipulates the Pledge of Allegiance in ways thatRead MorePrayer In Schools Has Been A Much Talked About Debate In1434 Words   |  6 Pages Prayer in schools has been a much talked about debate in America over the past half-century. Conservatives, trying to regulate the religious freedoms of Americans , have tried numerous times to pass amendments that allow private student-led prayer in the classrooms(Baik, 243). Liberals, realizing that private prayer is and has always been legal, try to keep the balance between church-state separation as it is. This has kept the political issue of religion at a boil and confused many people on theRead MoreTeaching in America: God in Schools826 Words   |  3 Pageslead any type of prayer or religious readings during school time. Many people complained about their children learning about different religions from teachers in school. These people felt that it was the job of the parents at home and not the teachers in school to influence their children about religions. â€Å"(T)eachers and other public school officials may not lead their classes in prayer, devotional readings from the Bible, or other religious activities.† (â€Å"Guidance on Constitutionality†). Government