...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...
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...Paper Introduction Looking back over the past two hundred and seven years, every session of the United States Senate has been opened with a prayer. Doing so has reaffirmed the Senates faith that God is the Sovereign Lord of our Nation. Barry C. Black currently serves as the spiritual advisor and counselor for the United States Senate with the title of Chaplin. Over the years, this position has ranged from part time, to now a full time position (United States Senate, 2011). Ever since Engel v. Vitale, people have been upset that God has been kicked out of the classroom. Engle v. Vitale was a landmark Supreme Court case, in which it was ruled that the public school could not be started or concluded with a formal reciting of a non-denominational prayer (Bill of Rights Institute, 2010). The following information will show both sides of the argument of if prayer should be allowed in schools. Background information will be given on the history of prayer in school and prayer in congress, and my personal thoughts on this important position. Argument There are many different viewpoints on the argument of prayer in schools. We will begin with the argument of allowing prayer in schools. The United States Constitution protects religious freedom under the First Amendment. The First Amendment states that Congress should not make any law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion (U.S. Constitution Online, 2010). The interpretation...
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...there have been heated debates over whether prayer should be allowed in a school setting? Every time the fires of the argument is rekindled, it ends in a stalemate, and is a topic that campaigning politicians tend to err away from. My aim is to stand stalwartly in favor of personal prayer being allowed for the individual and to point out where my beliefs stem from. Prayer should be allowed in schools because it is constitutional, acknowledges our religious heritage, and instills moral values. “The history of prayer in public school is a story of legal interpretation. The relationship between religion and government in the United States is governed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, which both...
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...Religion on the Field In some schools it is a custom for students to say a prayer before a football game or school events. In the Santa Fe Independent school district a Christian prayer was always said before the game begun. However there were two families from different religions that objected to these prayers and brought suit to the school district. While in New Orleans the prayer was declared unconstitutional by the U.S court of appeals. In Texas a judge said that the prayers should be permitted, and in Atlanta Georgia the U.S court of appeals ruled that the prayers must be permitted before a football game or any other school event because not permitting the prayer would violate the first amendment. There is a lot of confusion on whether the prayers should be permitted or not, because of our first amendment. In this case the school district is trying to find a way to be able to say the prayers without violating the rights of the minority. In the case of the Santa Fe Independent School District V. Doe We see the debate between whether or not a religious event should be allowed to happen on school grounds. Should a religious event such a prayer be allowed before a football game on school grounds? Is it a constitutional violation to allow this event to happen? I believe that it is unconstitutional to not let the students say their prayers before the football games because they have the freedom of speech. Students should be able to say their prayers because it is what they believe...
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...Why is prayer for student/athletes a problem in this world? Is it because some people have different beliefs? For some people, having prayer is not a big problem, but to others, they would rather have them not bring religion into a school. The debate began in 1960 and centers on the principle/that is the separation of church and state. There is a total of six cases on prayer in school: 1948, McCollum v. Board of Education District 71; 1962, Engel v. Vitale; 1963, Abington School District v. Schemmp; 1985, Wallace v. Jaffree; 1992, Lee v. Weisman; 199, Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe Many of those against prayer in school declare it is unconstitutional and violates the “separation of church and state.” Even though the clause is not found in the United States Constitution, it is an accepted principle of American law. Others contend that public schools...
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...XBCOM/275 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...
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...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...
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...cited in Killian, 1994). This article calls for the separation of church and state as well as the protection of religious liberty. The importance of separation through the government not promoting or endorsing any form of religion, is often felt in the public school system. The reason that the separation is felt in the public education system is because public school is a government program so, it is not allowed to endorse any religion, however, the students who attend there must be allowed to retain their religious liberty. This conflict has brought about valid opinions and concerns for the different aspects of religion found in a school setting. These aspects include prayer in school being allowed in the school; the teaching of religion in...
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...(Mosser, K., 2011.) Argument: Should prayer be allowed in school? For prayer in schools – * “As the First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." To prohibit school prayer is to prohibit the free exercise of one's religion. Thus, not only is eliminating prayer from public schools wrong, it is also unconstitutional. Moral and legal reasons demonstrate that prayer in public school should, therefore, be allowed” (Mosser, K.,2010). * There has never been any report that allowing prayer in school is physically or spiritually harmful to a child in any way. * Prayer teaches reflection and patience. * Therefore, it is our constitutional right to pray in schools and with prayer not being harmful it can actually teach a child reflection and patience which can help control behavior issues. Against prayer in schools – * People can tend to feel that with prayer religion is pushed upon them against their own beliefs and goes against their constitutional right. * There are too many different religions to have a specific religion class. * There are people who do not believe in a God at all. * Therefore, to place prayer in school would push religious prayer on someone who does not believe in the same thing or does not believe in a God at all is against their constitutional right as well. My personal thoughts - Eliminating prayer and other things the United States...
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...An example people who were for the teaching of religion is found in a study in Ukraine where children were taught religion in their school 90% of the parents of the children were for the practice (Greer, 1970). Many examples of success are found in private schools who have shown that the ability to combine religion and education have a positive impact on the students if done properly (Marshall, 2014). But there are many cases were because the teacher teaches in a way that is bias to other religions. Marshall tells about how in the 1600 - 1800’s there are good examples of combining religion and educational teachings. The student would have to both do a detail research oh her school work along with a religious topic. This type of act showed strong behavior through the students in their environment around them. Students were more involved with their communities (2014). Professor Marion Maddox, author of academic and political commentator, stated “education about religion is too important to be left to amateurs. Our kids deserve to learn about all the tradition that make up our multicultural nation – from qualified teachers” (as cited by Marshall...
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...Prayer In School Kevin Magilligan Grand Canyon Univ Prayer In Schools The United States was founded on freedom. One of those freedoms is the Freedom of Religion. Our forefathers knew that there had to be a separation of church and state. This allowed citizens of the US to practice any religion they may chose and the government would not interfere. A plethora of court cases have ruled that having prayer in school is unconstitutional. While having prayer in school that is not sponsored by the administration is constitutional. Groups such as Moms in Prayer are for having prayer in schools. While the American Civil Liberties Union are against having prayers in schools. "To secure the people's right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience: Neither the United States nor any State shall establish any official religion, but the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed. The United States and the States shall not compose school prayers, not require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity." Congressman Ernest Istook (R-OK). Prayer in school is a debate that has been going on since the 1960’s with the landmark case of Engle V Vitale. The case found that a school wide solicited prayer recited by the students was unconstitutional. This ruling led to other litigation where school sponsored prayer was not allowed, such as during sporting...
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...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...
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...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...
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...The right to pray in school/Schools should be neutral Since the foundation of this country was established, there have been many influxes of different culture beliefs and ethnicity. Since the Engle decision in 1962, (Engel v. Vitale 1962), ones who have been spreading the word of religion for years have not been satisfied with the Supreme Court for “taking God out of the classroom.” In an effort to reverse this trend, those spreading the word of religion have been fighting many years to have prayer/religion placed back into the public school system activities. Not all religious advocates are clear as to what activities they would like to see in the public schools, they are admitting they would like some religion/prayer implemented somewhere. They also began challenging the separation of church and state in hopes of providing students with strong moral and ethical backgrounds. Are the children suffering: Academics/ Sports? Since the banning of prayer in the public schools, children are suffering academically, physically, mentally and spiritually. They are going about their daily lives like nothing has changed. Their morals and values have changed. Public schools in the United States have become liberal and atheistic. Having “Five minute moment of silence” placed back into the public schools system can have a big effect on our children today. So much immorality is allowed in the public school system, but nothing of whole some goodness is allowed. We can have “Sex Education”...
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...Prayer Allowed In School Recently there was an incident in New York, where a student closed her middle school ceremony in prayer. They are deciding if it is a violation of the First Amendment even if it was given by a student (Haynes). There was another problem in Washington when a Football coach Joe Kennedy prayed with his players after a football game, he was put on a paid administrative leave because the school district didn't want to be seen as endorsing religion(Fox News). It has been a big problem in our American Society, causing a lot of problems in schools like teachers get fired and officers trying to settle ceremonies after surprise prayers and some people believe it is restricting their faith and belief. If we include the “Prayer Amendment” (Amendment 28) it will solve the problems in the school. The “Prayer Amendment”, will specifically permit prayer during school meetings and during school hours without getting in trouble....
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