The Freedom to Pray

The Freedom to Pray

  • Submitted By: Israel0797
  • Date Submitted: 01/27/2011 11:46 AM
  • Category: Religion
  • Words: 848
  • Page: 4
  • Views: 530

Spanning over approximately the last quarter of the 20th century into the 21st century, there has been a heated debate over the issue of prayer in schools. The opponents claim that mandated prayers in schools are unconstitutional, while the advocates of prayer in school cling to the notion that the moral of American students has significantly declined since prayer in public schools was “outlawed.” Many proponents refer to former Secretary of Education’s, William Bennett, cultural indexes to claim that between 1960 to 1990 “divorce double, teenage pregnancy went up 200%, teen suicide increased 300%, child abuse reached an all-time high, violent crime went up 500% and abortion increased 1000%” (youdebate.com). Is prayer in schools really “outlawed?” As a practicing and devout Christian, I give an emphatic no. The notion that is pushed to the public that prayer, itself, is absolutely banned in schools is false, and the laws set in place concerning the issue actually protect religious freedom.
Most people would refer to the Abington School District v. Schlepp& Engel v. Vitale cases as to when the Supreme Court “took prayer and bible studies out of school”. These cases established that state-sponsored prayer and bible readings were unconstitutional and violated the First Amendment. Neither of these cases resulted in students or teacher being prohibited from practicing voluntary prayer and bible study; to do so would also be a violation of the First Amendment . Controversy over this issue did not begin in 1962. In the 1830s, many Catholic immigrants objected to Protestant prayers and readings from the King James Bible in public schools, during which bitter conflicts formed. The Supreme Court and the writers of the constitution were well aware of the dangers of state-governed religion and made provisions to ensure the nation would stay unified.
So, what did the decision of the Supreme Court establish, and what does the law really say? Schools must...

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