Downfall of Education System was No School Prayer

Religion is one of the most controversial issues in society today. The concern of allowing prayer in schools is an on-going debate and has resulted in numerous lawsuits. Religious school clubs, after school activities, curriculums, and moments of silence during school are just a few of the court cases that judges have administered. People in favor of prayer in schools believe that their children can only learn certain values through religious practice. On the other hand, an individual against religious practice in schools views this issue as an infringement on his or her children’s rights as Americans.

Another issue has been the banning of public prayer in schools. It was decided that public prayer should be outlawed in the Supreme Court case Engel v. Vitale. (Schlafly et al. 150) Some people could understand this as it is not right to make prayer mandatory in school, when there are people who don’t believe in any religion. What might get some people is what was decided in 1962 by the Supreme Court,”… even a voluntary, non-denominational school prayer led by a public school official violated the Establishment Clause of the First Ammendment.” (Merino 8) Many people might wonder why prayer in school, if held on a voluntary basis, is bad. Why shouldn’t the kids who want to participate in prayer at school not be allowed to? One reason could be that the school officials don’t want to put a target on kid’s backs. For example, if everyone but one kid did partake in prayer that kid may get bullied or questioned or at the very least feel left out. The same could be true if only one kid went to prayer, that child could feel targeted and awkward. Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, which took place in 2000, decided that any individual could pray at

Since the founding of America, there has been concern with the church manipulating government. The separation of Church and State was to make sure the church did not become more powerful than government. In spite of wanting a separation of church and state, The United States of America became one nation under God. The earliest test of the separation of church and state with respect to education is McCollum versus Board of Education. This was a landmark case the United States Supreme Court in 1948 ended the power of a state to use its tax-supported public school system in aid of religious instruction. “The court case which prohibited the state from sponsoring specific prayers in public schools was Engel v. Vitale, decided in 1962 by an 8-1 vote.” (Cline p) It is unconstitutional to compose a school prayer and make students repeat it daily. Although these cases protect our religious freedoms, there is some fear that expelling God from public school has adverse effects. God can still be present; teachers can lead by example and teach behaviors and ethics that

“Our government has been based on religious principles since the very beginning. The Declaration says,” We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by certain unalienable rights…”.” This shows that our constitution, made for independence, wants the American people to keep God with them in everything they do. Even George Washington declared that U.S. citizens need to obey God and his will. George Washington was the first president of the United States. If he wanted the people to listen to God and obey his will, why change that now? Religion in school is not harmful in anyway. People can get talked about and bullied for their religion they practice. That is life and no one should be judged because of their religion they practice or live with. This is a free country and religion in school would not only help the students and teachers, who do not know much about religion but help people to have a better understanding and respect for other people's culture. Maybe, some people prefer not to pray at school, which is not a problem. Prayer would not be mandatory. Everyone's prayers are different; students would not be forced to say their prayer. Only if they want to. “...the supreme court did not “remove prayer from public schools.” The court removed only government sponsored worship (“Ten Reasons”

School prayer is a very controversial issue in today’s society. The issue of school prayer is about whether the public school systems should let the students pray, at the start of the school day, as a class. The issue of school prayer began in the late sixteenth century when people in England did not approve of the way one religion was forced upon them, so the Puritans, known as the Pilgrims decided to come to the colonies. Even in the colonies the Pilgrims had problems with religion they had to sometimes resort to highly creative strategies in order to pray. When people were caught having a secret service they would have to face the consequences that the law enforced, whether it was going

Prayer will have a profound effect on the children. Those that are of younger ages will develop an attitude of gratitude because someone taught them to pray. They can be introduced to other gods if they chose to. They will renew the founding fathers’ ideals of what the United States of America was built on as far as God goes. In God we trust. Morals and values have almost disappeared completely in the public schools. David Barton wrote “ The schools have declined since prayer was removed in 1962. Teenage pregnancy rates have gone up 500%. SAT scores have steadily declined each year for 18 straight years since 1962. The United States is rated 15th among the industrialized nations.

The case of Wallace v. Jaffree calls into question the constitutionality of an Alabama statute that authorized teachers to lead a one-minute period of silence for “meditation or voluntary” prayer in all public schools. Ishmael Jaffree, the parent of three students in the Mobile County Public School system filed a complaint that two of his three children had been “subjected to various acts of religious indoctrination,” as a result of Alabama statute 16-1-20.1 and asked for an injunction prohibiting Mobile County schools from “maintaining or allowing the maintenance of regular religious prayer services.” The purpose of Jaffree’s complaint was to prohibit the devotional services occurring in his children’s school and the consequent mockery of his children that occurred when they refused to recite the prayers to “Almighty God” (Stevens, 40). This type of law in Alabama public schools was not the first of its kind. Prior to statute 6-11-20.1, Alabama passed law 16-1-20 authorizing one minute of silence in public schools for meditation. After the authorization of statute 16-1-20.1 came 16-1-20.2, which allowed teachers to lead “willing students” in a prayer (Stevens, 40).

Even though public schools today are without school prayer, most schools have replaced prayer, with a "Silent moment of reflection." Also, the assumption if there is a God or not is a big question as well. I think prayer should be re-instated into schools, because children should be able to express religion freely. I also feel that lack of discipline; youth pregnancy, dropouts, and violence in schools are other issues that can be more controllable if there were religious classes and school prayer.

For centuries, the debate has existed whether or not to allow prayer in public schools. Many Americans feel it is not right of the schools to teach religion. With all the diversity associated with the United States, public schools cannot select one standard religion to practice, due to the cultural and religious differences in the country. Not only are schools the storm center of controversy involving religious differences, they are the principal institution charged with transmitting the identity and mission of the United States from one generation to the next. If we fail in our school policies and classrooms to model and to teach how to live with differences, we endanger our experiment in religious liberty and our

Five negative developments have occurred since the removal of prayer from public school. Academic achievement has plunged (including SAT scores). There has been an increased rate of out-of-wedlock births, leaving single mothers to struggle to survive (Starr, 2014). Illegal drug use has gone rampant. The amount of juvenile crime has skyrocketed. Lastly, behavior in school has drastically deteriorated. William Jeynes, a professor at California State College, says “ so we need to realize that these actions do have consequences” (Starr, 2014). These negative developments have occurred since the Engle v. Vitale case of 1962.

In the court case Engel v. Vitale, prayer in school was eliminated an official prayer in schools. his ended official prayer in schools all over the United States. In 1962, a local parent decided that state of New York should not mandate prayers and should be eliminated. This parent explained that this was against the constitution of the United States. The prayer was a simple as “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country.” (Lain, C. p.481). This prayer led to the banishing of all prayers in schools. This topic is important for the students to understand that religion cannot and should not be forced upon them by teacher and administrators. This is important

Allowing prayer in public schools remains a divisive and extremely passionate issue for various individuals. Americans have voted against the guiding principles for prayer in school, but the question, "should prayer be allowed in school?" continues to arise. Prayer in public schools has become one of the most controversial issues in the United States today. What keeps this matter boiling is the fear that a child will be influenced, or even worse, “offended” by another’s spiritual beliefs. By removing school prayer, the U.S Supreme Court has misconstrued the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. In order to protect our neighbor’s feelings, we have replaced the ingredients of religion and prayer in our schools with teen pregnancy, increased alcohol and drug use, sex, suicide, school shootings, and last but not least, an excessive amount of entitlement. Our children need something bigger than themselves to turn to when they are faced with difficult times. A simple two minute moment of silence would allow believers and non-believers the opportunity to meditate each morning and set the mood for the remainder of the day.

From the Campbell University School of Law, Jennifer Irby examines the court case Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe which had occurred three months prior. The purpose of the article was to expose the reader to the complicated issue of prayer in schools with an objective viewpoint. This article is similarly set up to Speich’s article of this case as they both are broken down into parts

Most individuals on the liberal spectrum tend to agree with the courts when it declared government sponsored prayers are unconstitutional. The less conservative individuals show a tendency to believe that any amendment that allows for voluntary prayer would contradict the first amendment guarantee against government establishment of religion. Most on the liberal spectrum or those that feel the government does not have enough power feel that any sort of Government action to allow voluntary prayer in schools could be at the cost of the civil rights of students. It is believed that any amendment or law consenting for voluntary prayer would diminish the very heart of the Bill of Rights; which protects the rights of people from the oppression from the majority. Those that do not allow or want to allow prayer in school think that any amendment affirming that prayer should be allowed in school would actually introduce assembled prayer or force persons into prayer. Those that clash with prayer in school fear that judgement against those that do not participate in school prayer. Those in the small percentage that do not want to participate would be obligated to follow to a belief or ritual that which they do not believe. This could cause the individual to suffer the humiliation or burden of submitting a day-to-day spiritual exercise continuously in order to avoid being singled out by mainstream colleagues and educators.

Prayer plays such a big role in many people’s lives. It happens each and every day and multiple times throughout the day. Even though it can play a huge role in someone’s life, it cannot be practiced in schools. Prayer in school has been a very controversial topic for many years. According to Steven K. Green, “On June 25, 1962, the United States Supreme Court decided in Engel v. Vitale that a prayer approved by the New York Board of Regents for use in schools violated the First Amendment by constituting an establishment of religion (Green 1).” It has since then been taken out of school preventing teachers to preach or teach about religion.