...widespread issue today is the right to have prayer in public schools. The proposed amendment reads: "To secure the people's right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience. The people's rights to pray and to recognize their belief, heritage or traditions on public property, shall not be infringed. The government shall not require any person to join in the prayer or religious activity, initiate or designate school prayers, discriminate against any religion, or deny equal access to benefit on account of religion. (AVSP)" This would permit but not mandate school prayer. 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. (Haas35) Therefore, having a prayer in school would be unconstitutional. "A radical school prayer amendment would attack the heart and soul of the bill of rights which safeguards the rights of the individual from tyranny...
Words: 756 - Pages: 4
...the subcategory “The Free Exercise Clause”, because it upholds the rights of the American people to decide on any religious belief and to be able to exercise their beliefs without getting in trouble with the law. One example of a public policy that is designed to protect the civil liberty is the “moment of silence” in schools. The moment of silence is done in all the schools in the morning during the announcements and there is silence for 60 seconds with no sounds or interruptions. This gives everyone the opportunity to pray, meditate or even just sit and think without being disturbed. I support this policy because everyone has their own right to pray without disturbing the rights of others and those who don’t chose to pray also have the right to sit without disturbing the ones who are praying. The article that I chose to write about was originally written in the American School Board Journal paper and was written by Edwin Darden in 2008. The title of the article is “Is Silence in the Classroom Really Golden”? He explains that having silence in the classroom is great to have but are we having it in our classroom just for religious purposes? He asks if a mandatory “moment of silence” in public schools is for students to relax and get focused for the day ahead, or is it an invitation to pray. One could argue the opposite could be true, is it an opportunity to relax or an excuse to encourage students not to pray? This is the type of issue that the courts struggle with when it comes...
Words: 1046 - Pages: 5
...County schools wanted to pray before the football games, but one young boy named Doug Jager refused to participate in these prayers due to his families’ religious beliefs (OpenJurist). This ended a tradition of Douglas County schools that had lasted forty-one years, and this led to Doug being harassed and even threatened by peers and people around school (Freedom from Religion Foundation). The problem was that in these prayers when they ended, it would end along the lines of “Jesus, in your name we pray” and so on expressing Christianity. Doug Jager felt this...
Words: 763 - Pages: 4
...February 8, 2015 Debate Paper Prayer in our schools today has almost died out completely. Prayer is a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to god or an object of worship. As it states in the First Amendment that it protects the right to freedom of expression from government interference. Although prayer in school may focus on religion, violate the first amendment, and separation of church and state, there are some good things and bad that come out of prayer in schools. Being that we are an unequal society and everyone has his or her own personal opinion on prayer in our schools; it still remains one of the most controversial issues today. Just like the different types of religion. The decision to take prayer out of public schools has become one of the most controversial issues throughout our society. The argument of whether prayer should or should not be allowed is so misunderstood. When determining whether or not prayer should be allowed in public schools, it is important to consider both the advantages and disadvantages. In our society, 90% of America’s children attend public schools. The children that attend public schools come from homes that use a fluctuation of religion or don’t practice religion at all. The good and bad of prayer in public schools are not a cut and dry issue. There are many outlets to this matter. The arguments of the people that want to banish prayer in the school system are not giving the children and possible their...
Words: 2023 - Pages: 9
...Prayer in School Katrina, Anthony, and Tab October 5, 2011 BCOM/275 Prayer in School Throughout our society, prayer in school has become extinct. Prayer is a form of communication or a way of talking to God or other saints (Richert, N.D.). Although prayer in school may focus on religion, violate the first amendment, and separation of church and state, there are both advantages and disadvantages of prayer in our schools. Being that we are a diverse society and everyone has his or her own personal opinion on prayer in our schools; it still remains one of the most controversial issues today. The decision to take prayer out of public schools has become one of the most controversial issues throughout our society. The argument of whether or not prayer should be allowed in public schools is still misunderstood. When determining whether or not prayer should be allowed in public schools, it is important to consider both the advantages and disadvantages. In our society, 90% of America’s youngsters attend public schools. The children that attend public schools come from homes that espouse a variety of religious and philosophical beliefs (www.au.org). The pros and cons of prayer in public schools are not a cut and dry issue. There are many avenues to this matter. Pros arguments that have been expressed by people that approve of prayer in schools argue to banish prayer takes away the student’s freedom and molds them to be like non-religious students (www.religioninschools...
Words: 2048 - Pages: 9
... 1 Prayer and the School Setting PHI 200 Instructor Lisa Linkin May 11, 2012 Prayer and the School Setting Many students throughout the world carry on their daily tasks of going to school. They come home or to their dorms from the excessive day of learning and they may say a prayer or they may not. For the ones that do say a prayer, they may feel as if the prayer would have been better said during school at the time of a “stressful situation or test”. This was not the case because prayer is being banned from school. This topic has been a very hot one from the time of the first person speaking out against having prayer in the school setting even until now showing no signs of letting up. Why is it so bothersome? It stands to reason that the reason prayer in the school setting is such a rampant subject is because those on both sides of the situation have very strong and valid arguments. Every time there seems to be a sound solution, there is something else that challenges the peace the solution seemingly creates. When it comes to the issue of prayer being appropriate for the school setting there are those that say that it is not appropriate, those that agree that it is, and those willing to look for solutions to pacify both sides. To even come close to beginning to identify whether prayer is appropriate for school or not one must understand exactly what both these terms mean in a general sense. School is defined as “place of instruction…discussion”...
Words: 2943 - Pages: 12
...School Prayer The issue of school prayer has invoked great controversy in our society. Some people feel that school prayer should be brought back into schools and practiced as part of the education process. The Supreme Court has continually denied allowing prayer to seep into the public school systems. Through years of controversy, many states started to adopt the “moment of silence” which was an attempt to bring back prayer in our schools. However, the school officials cannot suggest or have the kids pray, even though its true aim is clear, to encourage students to pray. Because of the “moment of silence,” there has finally been a neutral act to encourage prayer. There is a one sided claim that a mandated moment of silence in public classrooms amounts to an unconstitutional attempt to establish religion. The “moment of silence” is Constitutional, and a great way to encourage prayer for our students. Rufus Goodwin stated, “Praying, like poetry, is an activity that activates the human being.” In other words, prayer is a personal experience and intimate connection with our Father. People pray for several reasons such as personal benefit or for the sake of others. Prayers can consist of requesting guidance and assistance, confessing sins, or to express one’s thoughts and emotions (Goodwin R.). Why wouldn’t this intimate act with our Creator be an important part of the student’s day? Moments of silence often last one minute, but other amounts of time may be chosen. Sometimes...
Words: 1621 - Pages: 7
...America’s Decline: Banning Prayer in Public Schools Raymond Ballou PHI 200 Instructor: Michelle Loudermilk 3/31/12 America’s Decline: Banning Prayer in Public Schools A very controversial widespread issue today is the right to have volunteer prayer in public schools. This issue has been constantly debated for years whether prayer in public schools should be permitted. For more than 200 years, public schools were allowed voluntary prayer. Our forefathers built our nation on Christian values. The first English settlers came to America for the right to freedom and to worship God in their own way. In Colonial America, most schools were run by the churches. The first settlers in America felt that it was important that children learned to read so that they could read their Bibles. Prayer has been a part of our culture as long as there have been public schools; this helped the students develop morals and learn right from wrong. School prayer was a natural part of the settler’s school life. There is a casual relationship between taking prayer out of our schools and the downfall of our society today. The basic dispute over this issue is that it violates The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and the separation of church and state. The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States gives every individual the same rights. One right is the constitutional protection for the free exercise of religion. The second right is prohibition of the establishment of...
Words: 2610 - Pages: 11
...places of work using a small receiver. The call to prayer goes like this: 'God is great, God is most Great, (x3) I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, (x3) I bear witness that Mohammed is the messenger of Allah (x2) Come to prayer, (x2) Come to your good, (x2) God is most great, (x2) I bear Witness that there is no God but Allah [IMAGE]Muslims pray five times a day and prayer times are fixed by the sun and change daily. Because people lead busy lives it is the role of the muezzin to make sure people know when the correct time for prayer is. Each time for prayer has a special name and each time is separated by two hours. These times are Fajr (before dawn and sunrise), Zuhr (after midday), 'Asr (between late afternoon and sunset), Maghrib (between sunset and the end of daylight) and 'Isha (night until dawn). [IMAGE]The first thing a person does before entering the mosque is to take off their shoes. [IMAGE]This is because they are entering a sacred place and it is a sign of reverence to Allah. Also, when a Muslim prays at the mosque at times they put their face on...
Words: 1633 - Pages: 7
...then pray for forgiveness. We’ll do penance.” Her eyes began to sparkle with the strange, disconnected zeal that came over her at events which she considered to be tests of faith. ‘I’ll stay home from work and you’ll stay home from school. We’ll pray. We’ll ask for a Sign. We’ll get us down on our knees and ask for the Pentecostal Fire.” “No, Momma.” Her mother reached up and pinched her own face. It left a red mark. She looked to Carrie for reaction, saw none, hooked her right hand into claws and ripped it across her own cheek, bringing thin blood. She whined and rocked back “Washed in the Blood of the Lamb,” she whispered. “Many times. Many times he and I—” “Go away, Momma.” She looked up at Carrie, her eyes glowing. There was a terrifying expression of righteous anger graven on her face. “The Lord is not mocked,” she whispered. “Be sure your sin will find you out. Burn it, Carrie! Cast that devil’s red from you and burn it! Burn itl Burn it! Burn it!” The door slammed open by itself. “Go away, Momma.” Momma smiled. Her bloody mouth made the smile grotesque, twisted. Excerpt from Carrie by Stephen King “Take off that dress,” Momma said “No.” “Take it off, Carrie. We’ll go down and burn it in the incinerator together, and then pray for forgiveness. We’ll do penance.” Her eyes began to sparkle with the strange, disconnected zeal that came over her at events which she considered to be tests of faith. ‘I’ll stay home from work and you’ll stay home from school. We’ll...
Words: 455 - Pages: 2
...Franklin Graham Slams School Officials on Praying Coach Reverend Franklin Graham slammed a Washington school that suspended assistant coach Joe Kennedy for praying on football field. Graham says it’s a shame that the assistant coach has to watch a football game in the stands. The school told him he could go hide in the press box or somewhere no one can see him if he wants to pray. School officials had to put him on paid administrative leave because he continued to not follow the orders that he had been given. During Thursday’s game he hugged players over the fence and later went with a small group of them and prayed in front of the bleachers. Joe Kennedy is a Marine Corps veteran who fought for our countries freedom and now he has to fight...
Words: 276 - Pages: 2
...Axia College Material Appendix F Impact Matrix Assignment Directions: Assume that you are on the school board of your school district and you are tasked with the job of strategic planning for issues facing your district. Complete the matrix below to determine the potential response of each of the religious groups in your community. Use the attached links to research the basic moral and ethical principles believed by each group. Then determine how you believe each group will react to the issue based on what you find. Provide a brief justification for your answer. After completing the matrix, write a 300- to 500-word summary of the significant similarities and differences among the different religious groups. SCHOOL ISSUES Prayer in School Creationism v. Evolution Studying Women’s Rights in the Middle East Saying the Pledge of Allegiance Starting a Gay and Lesbian Support Group Inter-Racial Dating COMMUNITY RELIGIOUS GROUPS Pro/Con Justify your answer Pro/Con Justify your answer Pro/Con Justify your answer Pro/Con Justify your answer Pro/Con Justify your answer Pro/Con Justify your answer Atheist Con According to the BBC website, many atheists are "hostile" to any special treatment given to organized religion; they may find prayer in school to be offensive, as atheists tend to believe that a God is not a necessary belief. Pro Evolution Atheists would be pro-evolution, as evolution tends to use scientific evidence to justify its assumptions. According to the BBC website...
Words: 2604 - Pages: 11
...The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Many people in America don’t realize how lucky we, as Americans, are to have so much freedom, and they often take the hard work that went into writing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for granted. The Bill of Rights and the Constitution were written to keep our rights and freedoms, as citizens of America, safe from the government and all other authorities. I think that the most important Amendment is the First Amendment....
Words: 791 - Pages: 4
...Prayer in Public Schools Derrick DuHart Race, Religion, Culture Arkansas Baptist College Dr. Johnson, Instructor November 4, 2014 Tables of Contents I. Introduction Background/Statement of Problems pg. 3-4 Purpose of the Study pg. 5-12 Research Questions pg. 13 Significance of the Study pg. 14-19 II. Literature Review Methodology and Sampling Design Strategy pg. 20 Data Collection Procedures pg. 20 Data Analyzed pg. 21 Ethical Issues pg. 21 III. Results Conclusion pg. 21-22 References pg. 23 Appendix: I. Annotated Bibliography pg. 24-26 II. Survey Questions pg. 27 III. Results (Charted/Tables) pg. 28-31 Notes: I. Introduction Background/Statement of Problem Prayer in Public Schools The courts have ruled against prayer in school. Many agree with the decision; yet many disagree. Prayer should be allowed in public schools because it is already practiced. It prevents...
Words: 6577 - Pages: 27
...If God is allowed everywhere on earth, then what makes schools different? Why should those who wish to pray be deprived the right? There are smoking areas in schools where people can stand and smoke, so why not make a prayer room in schools and colleges for those folks who desire to pray. Prayer is a good guide for students and it can make them feel great while they are getting educated in schools and they can make better decisions throughout the year. Prayer in school must be allowed in order to expose the youth of upcoming generations the diversity of different religious beliefs, thereby increasing cultural tolerance. Prayer is very significant for all the students and when learners start praying in school it can prepare them for being more...
Words: 1594 - Pages: 7
