What Is Prayer In Public Schools

Prayer in Public Schools
Since the beginning of America our prodigious country has always been a religious one. In fact, the main reason our ancestors came across the sea to this new unknown world was for religious freedom. Schools had prayer and studied the Bible extensively. Teachers taught their pupil’s morals from the Holy Bible and daily prayer added a sense of comfort, clarity, and unity to the classroom. Now, 200 years later, religion is being attacked from every corner. This is especially evident in our school system. In 1962 the very first case against having prayer in school made it to the Supreme Court, and subsequently it is now banned from schools. Since then, students have become more and more violent, confrontational, and their
These individual’s concerns are valid because there have been cases of religion being forced upon students. Arthur Spitzer, a member of the American Law Institute, summarized the Paul Michael Herring v. Dr. John Key case which gives an example of Jewish children who are discriminated by their peers and teachers in school. One of the students was physically forced by his teacher to bow his head during a Christian prayer at school. The Jewish students’ Star of David was considered a gang sign by the teachers, so they were forbidden to wear it while the other children wore crosses. They were forced to attend Christian assemblies, and after the assemblies vicious verbal attacks were directed toward the children where they were called, “Jew boys” and “Jewish jokers.” One of the students was disciplined by the principal and had to write an essay titled, “Why Jesus Loves Me” (Spitzer, 1997). This is clearly an example of discrimination and hostility towards a certain religion. Students shouldn’t be forced to pray or be a target of bullying because they choose to exhibit their beliefs, but all children should be allowed to pray openly at school without fear of animosity from others. This will create an environment where respect of all people and religions is cultivated. If teachers pray in school they are opening their students’ eyes to the fact that there are different religions in the world. Not every teacher is of the same faith, some don’t belong to any religion. If they are allowed to make the decision whether or not to pray their students will be more open minded about other religions. The same goes for the students themselves. Harmony and respect will ensue if all students are able to demonstrate their diverse faiths with equal respect