Controversies with Prayer in Today's Schools
“Our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.” About thirty-nine years ago children in the public schools prayed this prayer every morning and read Scripture aloud before the start of class. Why are students not allowed to do this today? On June 17, 1963, the Supreme Court of the United States “kicked reverential Bible reading and prayer recitation out of schools” (“School Prayer Decision”). A woman by the name of Madalyn Murray O’Hair began legal proceedings in 1959 (Murray vs. Curlett) to obtain justice for her son who was enrolled in a public school that participated in Bible reading and unison prayers. The removal of prayer from the public school system has raised a lot of controversy in the past thirty or so years, especially in the last decade. This issue has not just caused an argument among Christians and Atheists; it has sparked attention throughout all religious groups in the United States. There are many more arguments against school prayer than there are for it. However, even though the anti-prayer group has a greater quantity of arguments, the pro-prayer group has better quality arguments. Therefore, pro-prayer has a stronger claim but it has yet to influence the Supreme Court justices. Advocating school prayer can be done in a variety of ways including first amendment rights, the nation’s history, and supporting a new amendment.
This country was built on the foundation of a Supreme Being by its Founding Fathers. However, over the years, specifically in the 1990’s, it has become unpopular to advocate traditional Christian values. Some school districts in some states are trying to defend these...