ipl-logo

Prayer In School Essay

1556 Words7 Pages

Since the early 20th Century, prayer in school has been a huge argument, and is still one of the most heated arguments in today’s society. The debate came about in 1948, when the Supreme Court handed down its first decision on the issue of religion in public schools, ruling in McCollum v Board of Education that it is unconstitutional to conduct religious education within public school buildings (Cohen par. 5). Many people stated that principals did not want the non-Christian students to feel uncomfortable, but did they ever think that not praying in schools could make the Christians students uncomfortable? Not letting students pray in school violates the 1st Amendment. Prayer at this level, that is nurturing a relationship between God and ourselves, …show more content…

We must show our non-Christians the same amount of respect as the Christians would want. It would violate the Constitution. That document clearly calls for the separation of church and state. Those who wrote it knew history. They knew how horrible and oppressive life could be when the two were not separated. All attempts to circumvent this provision have been struck down by the courts and will continue to be (Walsh 25). Most of those encouraging prayer in schools are supporting Christian prayer. If Christian prayer were to be allowed, then other religions would feel the need to pray as well. They are citizens who pay taxes that shape, function, and uphold schools; therefore, they have the same equal rights. Us as supporters of prayer in schools, may have less than Christian reasons for their advocacy; reasons like getting elected or re-elected to sever in school office or club office. Prayer still exists in the schools, but it exists quietly and privately in the hearts and minds of the students and staff.
Although you have other religions besides Christianity, I believe praying is good for the wellbeing of the school. Allowing praying in school can help everyone prosper academically and spiritually. Praying is good for everyone, even though you might not believe in God, he still treats as his

Show More
Related

  • What Is The Case Of Mcculloch Vs Maryland 1819

    3094 Words  | 13 Pages

    1. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) a. Constitutional Question: Under the Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, did the Maryland law unconstitutionally interfere with congressional law? b. Background Information: Congress set up the bank of Maryland McCulloch argued that the Maryland tax was unconstitutional and had no authority to demand taxes from the bank in Maryland. James W. McCulloch was a cashier at the Baltimore Branch and refused to pay the taxes.

    Read More

  • Santa Fe High School Case Summary

    599 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Engel V. Vitale: Prayer In The Public School

    859 Words  | 4 Pages

    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:

    Read More

  • Abington SD Vs. Schempp Case Study

    578 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abington SD vs. Schempp This case concerns Bible reading in the public schools of Pennsylvania. When the students who attended arrived for school, they were required to read at least ten verses from the Bible. After that, they were required to recite the Lord’s Prayer. The only way to avoid these activities was written note from the parents. The United States Supreme Court favored Schempp and declared this Bible reading to be unconstitutional.

    Read More

  • Engel Vs Vitale Summary

    1682 Words  | 7 Pages

    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’ ”

    Read More

  • Engel V. Vitale Summary

    426 Words  | 2 Pages

    The issue in this case was whether school-sponsored nondenominational prayer in public schools violates the Establishment clause of the first amendment (Facts and Case Summary - Engel v. Vitale, n.d.). This case dealt with a New York state law that had required public schools to open each day with the Pledge of Allegiance and a nondenominational prayer in which the students recognized their dependence upon God (Facts and Case Summary - Engel v. Vitale, n.d.). This law had also allowed students to absent themselves from this activity if they found that it was objectionable. There was a parent that sued the school on behalf of their child. Their argument was that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as made applicable

    Read More

  • Lemon V. Kurtzman Case

    1533 Words  | 7 Pages

    One of the many landmark cases heard by the United States Supreme Court in American history was Lemon vs Kurtzman. In 1971 the Supreme Court had to decide if states could give money to certain religious based schools to hire staff even if the teachers couldn’t teach religious classes. The first amendment to the Constitution established the law of separation of church and state. What is the established boundary between church and state? This case would be the defining point in that fight between the involvement of a state and the churches.

    Read More

  • Review Of James Madison's Address To The General Assembly Of The Commonwealth Of Virginia

    693 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Establishment Clause Of The First Amendment

    440 Words  | 2 Pages

    It would be biased and partial to only give money to non religious schools, where as it would be impartial and unbiased to give to all schools no matter if it is

    Read More

  • Summary Of Growing Christian Persecution In America

    1814 Words  | 8 Pages

    An alarming incident also occurred in the state of California when elementary principal, Craig Richter, was disciplined because he appeared in a short promotional video for a teacher’s prayer breakfast organized to honor educators (Samuel). The article states that the video was viewed by a school

    Read More

  • Government-Written Prayer Should Not Be Interpreted In Public Schools

    2001 Words  | 9 Pages

    Although public school prayers violate the separation of church and state, that doesn’t mean the U.S supreme court can replace freedom of religion with freedom from religion. Most of them argue the gov’t is meant for everyone, it should be neutral while protecting all. Alabama, Montana, north Dakota and Maryland are the only state out of 54 states to allow public prayer and religious groups, club and programs in public schools, but on conditions like students will not be forced to cooperate in prayer, furthermore students are allowed to have a moment of silence (in Virginia) and teaching of the positive-negative side of different religion. There is a possibility someday, someone will sue a Virginia school because of it moment of silence time. The justice system needs to draw a clear line between religion and the people 's

    Read More

  • Engel V Vitale

    650 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Religious Freedom In America

    1407 Words  | 6 Pages

    Over the past few years, anyone can tell you that religious importance in our country has become less, and less vital. Recent events like the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, and the attacks on Paris, France, have made the freedom of religion harder and harder to come by. Having the free practice of religion has proved difficult. Christianity has suffered from these issues as the general acceptance of the religion has declined substantially in the few decades. A recent poll there was a sense of discrimination for the Islamic religion, as they have been responsible for the attacks, 8/10 Americans believe Christianity should be practiced freely, while only a mere 6/10 Americans think the Muslims should practice freely (Source #3).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Freedom Of Religion

    948 Words  | 4 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay Religion

    1390 Words  | 6 Pages

    Jurak Una PS190 Argumentative analysis essay In the past few years, there has been much discussion on whether religious teaching should be part of the public school curriculum. Religion is a constant element shaping our political, economic and social lives. It pinpoints the set of beliefs, dogmas and practices defining the relation between human beings and the so called “divinity”. The notion of religion has always been a very important element of the world’s history.

    Read More

More about Prayer In School Essay

Open Document