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What would happen if you were caught with a bag of pot at school?? What about a gun?? Now what do you think would happen if you were caught giving thanks for your food in the school cafeteria, or reading your Bible in your spare time?? Since 1962 the Supreme Court has prohibited prayer, bible reading, a moment of silence, and even posting the Ten Commandments on a school bulletin board. In Jackson, Miss., a principal was fired for allowing students to read a prayer over the intercom. In Missouri, a student got detention for praying over his lunch. A second-grader in New York was told the storybook she brought to share with her class was inappropriate because it contained the dreaded G-word. In 1991, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned a death sentence because the prosecutor quoted Leviticus to the jury.
James Traficant, State Representative of Ohio, stated “A Congress that allows God to be banned from our schools while our schools can teach about cults, Hitler and even devil worship is wrong, out of touch, and needs some common sense.”
Although the examples I’ve told you about are true, prayer in a sense is allowed in public school systems- on school busses, at the flag-pole, and in student religious clubs. However, it is not normally permitted in the classroom itself when a class is in session. Why can we teach Atheism, the belief that God does not exist, and the well known evolution theory of Charles Darwin that says that man originated from apes but not speak of Jesus Christ, the one so many of us believe in.
This would violate the principle of church-state separation, which is defined by court interpretations of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This requires that public school teachers, principals, and boards are religiously neutral. They may not promote a particular religion as being superior to any other, or even promote religion in general as being superior. I feel that this is saying our teacher and principals who are suppose to be role models are being forced to hide their religious beliefs when entering their classroom.
The law prohibits public schools from requiring students to engage in a moment of silence during which they could pray meditate, plan their day, or engage in any other silent mental activity. The law prohibits prayers before Board of Education meetings, prohibits any type of coach to take place in a team prayer or allowing prayer to become part of the game format. In the survey given to this class, everyone in this class said they felt that, we as students, should have the right to choose to join in a school prayer. So why don’t Congress and the representatives come to us as students, since this law does apply to us?
You may ask, “What does the Constitution allow?” Prayer at special ceremonies, such as graduation, is allowed only if it is initiated by students and not a teacher. It allows teachers to teach the positive and negative effects of religion on society in history and literature. It allows Bible study club or any other religious club, but according to the Equal Access Act of 1984, group meetings must be voluntary and student initiated. There must be no “sponsorship” of the meetings by the school. Students can organize prayers on school property outside the classroom, they can carry Bible texts to and in school.
The constitution can require schools to have their teachers explain the theory of evolution, even though an individual teacher might reject the theory on personal religious grounds and last teachers may be prohibited from displaying a Bible on their desk or from placing religious posters on the classroom walls and or in their own personal office. This would indicate state support for a specific religion.
In conclusion, the law guarantees students fundamental religious freedoms while requiring the school to maintain a religiously neutral environment. The Natural Prayer Project, suggested by Colin Powell, recommends that schools have a simple moment of silence when students would then have the right to pray, meditate, contemplate or study. I leave you with this passage from Powell’s book titled “An Outrageous Idea: Natural Prayer” … “We have forgotten that we are all in this together. And we keep separating ourselves from ourselves, by color, popularity, clothes, money, creed, greed, boundaries, age, and so on and on. We need something to pull us all together. Natural Prayer could be that miracle. It includes “everyone, even the non-believers.”
Word Count: 751
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