Prayer in Public Schools Essay

Constitution's First Amendment requirement that the District neither establish religion in the schools nor prohibit students’ free exercise of religion according to pertinent interpretation and application of those constitutional provisions by the courts. Any religious characters need to conform to policy 8800” (Markesan District School, 2013). “Decisions of the United States Supreme Court have made it clear that it is not the province of a public school to advance or inhibit religious beliefs or practices” (Markesan District School, 2015). Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, this remains the “inviolate province of the individual and the church of his/her choice. The rights of any minority, no matter how small, must be protected. District staff members shall not use prayer, religious readings, or religious symbols as a devotional exercise or in an act of worship or celebration” (20 U.S.C. 4071 et seq.) (Markesan District School, 2015). Having examined the Markesan District School First Amendment related to this topic the next step is to conclude my research on this topic.

The first part of that amendment is the result of the Founding Fathers’ experience with the long history of religious strife in Europe such as the French Wars of Religion, the Thirty Years’ War, and the Crusades. They realized that religious disagreement can be counterproductive and create setbacks in politics. It would be even worse if one religious group was favored. So, they ensured that the federal government cannot interfere in the citizen's personal

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution founded the concrete belief that government and faith-based institutions must and will remain separate from one another. This section of the first amendment disavows the U.S. government to establish or sanction any system of organized faiths or religions upon the people or to outlaw or disgrace any systems of organized faiths as well. But the line discerning the legitimacy of a faith and the true extent of the government's power over faith-based organizations has only remained to become muddled over the past 240 years of its establishment. Over the years, the ideology and true intent of the founding fathers had remained in question, where some believe the amendment addresses to the general

Constitution were in favor of the separation of church and state. The founding fathers felt that a man's religion and faith are personal matters and the government had no right be involved in them. Therefore, I believe they wanted all religions to be protected whether Christian or non-Christian. In Thomas Jefferson’s letter, he states, "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that acts of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." (How to cite in text) This expression has become well known because it is said to explain the "religion clause" of the First Amendment to the Constitution which reads: "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" (U.S. const. amend. I).

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that every person in the United States has the right to exercise his or her own belief, or none at all, whatever their choice may be. Our nation's forefathers who were not of the same religious upbringings themselves recognized the greatest way to defend religious freedom was to retain the government out of religion so they generated the First Amendment to secure the separation of church and state (American Civil Liberties Union, n.d.). This important liberty is a main motivation why the U.S. has achieved to avoid a lot of the spiritual battles that have divided so many other states separately.

The First Amendment declares, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. The fundamental ideas behind the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause are both involved in the literature of this statement. Both of these clauses support the separation of government involvement in religious affairs. Nonetheless, the Establishment Clause is distinct from the former because it specifically “requires a degree of separation between church and state” (Rossum, 281).

Another important part of the First Amendment, is the recognition of the Free Exercise Clause. This gives individuals the right to select whether or not they want to be involved with a religion of their choice. This clause also gives security to those who want to be able to express their religion, without fear of harsh punishments inflicted by others. Unfortunately, many people do not express a specific religion due to the view society has. Since many people see the freedom of religion as only an idea, there is not much emphasis placed on protecting a right that should be the most

The First Amendment of The Constitution is acknowledged to be the guarantor of freedom of speech, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of religious practice. In broad terms, the First Amendment is conspicuous as to what it represents. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court was compelled to analyze several cases that have challenged the Freedom of Religion clause, found within the First Amendment, due to the scope in which they have been presented. Furthermore, the analyzing of cases that challenge the Freedom of Religion clause pushed the Supreme Court towards a more complex issue of allowing freedom of religion without an overriding government interest. Despite the fact that most of the cases we’re going to analyze ruled in favor of an overriding

"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"(Cornell University Law School.) The First Amendment of the constitution talks about the religious liberties given to the citizens of the United States. It protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference and enforces the “separation of church and state” (Cornell University Law School.) The free exercise clause is another important clause that prohibits the government from interfering with a person’s practice of their religion. There are associations created just for this protection of religious rights. The Christian Law Association was made for many of the instances involving people “experiencing difficulty in practicing their religious faith because of governmental regulation, intrusion, or prohibition in one form or another” (Christianlaw.org) The basis of this research focus’ specifically on the question of the balance between religious rights and the other constitutionally given rights. This paper will go over and define the right’s given and will examine some of the court cases and issues involving the question and balance of religious rights and liberties.

The removal of prayer from public schools is a very controversial and misunderstood debate. This paper will address the history of the debate, common myths and misunderstandings, and the current trends.

Often, as was the case of the abolition of slavery in our country, it seems that courts ratified change that had already occurred in the ethos of the national culture and consciousness of the nation after the tide had already turned. This is the case with the issue of prayer in schools and the separation of church and state in general.

Besides that, these critics think allowing religious practices in school is illegal and child abuse in a way of forcing a certain religion on children. In opponent’s eyes, prayer leads to unnecessary pressure on students and due to past disputes, opponents also believe that encouraging religion would just cause conflict between anyone and everyone with religious differences in the United States. In Dr. Robert G. Wilkerson’s article “7 reasons why prayer does not belong in public schools,” Wilkerson states his opinion on the subject, “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

Prayers in public schools? This is a big topic in most of the worlds in today society. People need to remember that it is a public school and many people do attend them and it’s their choice to attend those schools. Me personally I feel they school be allowed! just like the pledge of allegiance. Some kids have different races and believe in different beliefs then most Americans today. We still allow these different regions into the United States to be a part of the American society so for them to believe that we would have to change or correct what we believe in is a messy situation. But as of today will still don’t prayer in public schools systems, in less it is a catholic school system. But I can see that we can’t be selfish among our self and the religions of others. If we was to having prayers in public school there

The debate on religion in the public school is complicated by the fact that there are two clauses dealing with religion in the First Amendment (Warnick, 2012). The Establishment Clause, which disallows the establishment by the government of any particular religion, and the Free Exercise Clause, which prohibits the state from proscribing the practice of religion, are a source of

Religion and prayer can benefit students in educational settings by positively contributing to better grades and behavior. Personal faith and prayer are important to people in many walks of life. Some individuals believe that this need for religious stimulation includes the youth in our school systems. There are different reasons why knowledge of religion and prayer can be important to students. For example, if students do not know about diverse faiths, it can be difficult for them to have a well-rounded knowledge and understanding of other cultures. There are oppositional sides to this issue as well. Some people believe that prayer in educational settings could be used as a way to persuade students into believing certain things that they