Prayer in public schools became an issue in 1960. Madalyn Murray O’Hair sued the Baltimore, Maryland school system on behalf of her son William J Murray, because he was being forced to participate in prayer in schools. Ultimately, her actions and the actions of the American Atheist Organization resulted in the Supreme Court ruling of 1962. In the light of this information, it is necessary to extend to the government some individual rights to promote individual growth and I would like to offer the following resolution:
“Prayer in Public Schools is justifiable.”
My value term for today’s debate is Justifiable.
My value criterion is Individualism.
I would like to offer the following definitions:
Public school- any elementary or secondary
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Forbidding the majority the right to pray in public schools in the tyranny of the minority.
a. Three-quarters of American favor prayer in public schools (Riffkin).
b. 77 percent of Americans support public school facilities being available after hours for student religious groups to use (Riffkin).
2. Forbidding prayer in schools discourages religion.
a. The first amendment encourages religion (Center).
b. In the first half of the First Amendment religious freedom is encouraged (Center)
3. There is a strong correlation between the expulsion of prayer from school and the decline in morality.
a. Former Secretary of Education, William Bennett revealed that between 1960 and 1990 there was a steady moral decline (Eliassin).
b. During this period divorce doubled, teenage pregnancy increased, teen suicide increased, child abuse reached an all time high, violent crimes went up, and abortion increased (Eliassin).
Conclusion
Therefore, in conclusion, I would like to state that the need to exercise individual rights for the furtherance and growth of individuals makes prayer in public schools justifiable. I have proven that the removal of prayer from public schools infringes on individual rights, and affects the morality of individuals. I must therefore contend that “Prayer in Public Schools is
Facts This case arose out of the consolidation of Lemon v Kurtzman from Pennsylvania and Early v Di Censo from Rhode Island. In the two cases, the state had adopted laws that required the state to provide aid to church related elementary and secondary schools. The Rhode Island’s statute provided for financial support for non-public schools by supplementing 15% of teachers’ salaries. The Pennsylvania statute provided funding for salaries, textbooks and instructional materials for non-public schools.
Case Citation: Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000) Parties: Santa Fe Independent School District/ Petitioner Jane Doe/ Respondent Facts: Prior to 1995, Santa Fe High School established a policy which allows their student council chaplain to deliver a Christian prayer through the school’s public address system before home football games of the school’s team. The practice was repeated before every football game. The mothers of one Mormon and one Catholic student filed a suit, claiming that the prayer policy violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Engel v. Vitale: Prayer in the Public Schools is a book written by Julia C. Loren. Loren’s main purpose for writing this book is to inform us about the history of the Engel v. Vitale trial, an important trial which determined that prayer was not acceptable in the public schools quote as the book says the “In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down one of its most controversial decisions of the twentieth century.” In this book, Loren was not bias towards either Engel’s or Vitale’s side of the case as she did not appear to be very fond of one particular side and gave information regarding both sides of the case. With that being said, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history or even the Engel v. Vitale case itself because the author was very straightforward in telling about both sides of the case without leaving anything out. Engel v. Vitale:
May it Please the Court, The Court case Alex v. Upper Arlington School District, a student named Alex refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in the early hours of school. He was told countless times by teachers to stand for the flag. Alex refused and was sent to the office and received a suspension for insubordination. This action violated Alex’s First Amendment rights, going against his freedom of speech and religion.
an you imagine yourself having to start your daily school routine with a prayer? This became a serious question to be taken up by the Supreme Court of the US, in November of 1951. Following an increase in in juvenile crime (many believe caused by the Korean War). The New York Board of Regents adopted a prayer to be recited in NY public schools (Dierenfield 67). The prayer was established because “...the regents believed that such a program would ensure that school children would acquire ‘respect for lawful authority and obedience to law’ ”
In James Madison’s address to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, “Memorial and Remonstrance”, he speaks about his opposition to a Bill which would provide provisions for teachers of Christian faith. He argues that such a Bill is an abuse of legislative powers, and he is bound by duty to prove why. Madison starts off by pointing out how religion is a personal freedom given to every man and it should not be controlled in any way by a governing body.
Gathercoal (2001) reminds school leaders that the Supreme Court has upheld schools may limit an individual’s right to an education if they violate one of four underlying responsibilities. Students right to an education can be limited if they willfully cause property loss or damage. They must follow rules which have a legitimate educational purpose. Students rights can also be limited if they pose a health and safety risk to themselves or others. Finally students may not cause a serious disruption to the educational process.
There have been many cases with the Supreme Court and rights of students. Many of the cases in which took place in the topics of self expression, freedom of speech, discipline, religion, and more. Some of the following are situation where students brought their cases to the Supreme Court in order to protect their rights. Freedom of Speech
To begin with, the first amendment is very important to the Constitution and our daily life. In the first amendment there are five freedoms given to American citizens, the freedom of religion (from religion too), press, speech (expression), assembly, and the right to petition against the government. According to the article “First Amendment” on kidlaws.com, the freedom of religion,
This shows that after this case study, it was established that US Citizens have the right to a K-12 education, one that is equally funded so that all students are learning on a level playing field. For this case study, the Texas Supreme Court established the right for students to receive a public school education Texas citizens have the responsibility to take action against an issue they find unconstitutional, either by voting or joining an interest group.
Vitale. The case of Engel v. Vitale was brought up by a group of families from New Hyde park, New York, they were up against the voluntary prayer written by the state board to God, in other words, the study board wrote a Christian prayer up for public students who wants it. A group of parent under their leader Steven Engel(a jihadist) were not Christians and they believed this prayer contradicted their religion, they argued opening a public school with such prayer violates the clause of the first Amendment and the fourteenth amendment. At the end of this case, the court ruled government- written prayers may not be recited in public schools because it violates the first amendment. However these public school students were given a choice they were not forced to pray this prayer, moreover, this particular prayer was not sponsored by taxpayer’s money.
In 1951, the following prayer was written that was intended to be recited each morning as part of the regents’ Statement of Moral and Spiritual Training in the Schools: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.” Because the regents made the recitation of the prayer each day entirely optional to the school boards and the individual families of students, many New York school districts shunned the prayer because of their eclectic student bodies. Not only was the state religiously and ethnically diverse, but religious instruction in state schools was declared unconstitutional by the 1948 Supreme Court decision in the McCollum vs. Board of Education case. Because of the constantly increasing controversy about religious teaching in public schools, at least 90% of New York districts were not using the prayer by the late 1950s. Then, in 1958, five parents (of varying religions and ethnicities) of students within the district filed a lawsuit to stop the use of the prayer in their schools.
Prayer in public schools became an issue in 1960. A woman by the name of Madalyn Murray O’Hair sued the Baltimore, Maryland school system, because her son William J Murray was allegedly being forced to participate in prayer at the public school he attended. The American Atheist Organization, alongside Madalyn’s actions consequently led to the Supreme Court ruling in the 1960s. On June 17, 1963, the Supreme Court published its ruling on the case. The Supreme Court ruled that Bible reading and prayer in schools were unconstitutional.
“Religious liberty might be supposed to mean that everybody is free to discuss religion. In practice, it means that hardly anybody is allowed to mention it.” ― G.K. Chesterton Many occasions in the United States history have shown that religion has caused many controversial questions. These questions have brought the American Justice System to a running halt, leading society to begin to ponder about the importance of freedom of religion, true meanings of the free exercise and establishment clause, and if there should be limitations imposed on the free exercise of one’s religious beliefs.
Religious symbols being displayed in schools has caused a significant amount of controversy and debate, particularly in what could be considered a more liberal and free thinking global society. The state of societies and nations today seem to follow a secular position of government with there being no influence of religion on the operations of government. However, a more common scenario is that of a clear distinction between religion and state. Whilst the question posited asks us to determine whether or not school should display religious symbols in the classroom, the more significant question should be to what extent is there a separation of state and religion, and can it be justifiable in a supposed secular state for religious symbols to