Prayer Should Not be Allowed in Public Schools

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Prayer Should Not be Allowed in Public Schools

School prayer is a very controversial issue in today’s society. This issue has been a problem since America was first founded, in that the country was founded on religious beliefs. The Pilgrims wanted to be able to express their beliefs freely, but in England this freedom was not found, so they decided to come to the Americas, where their beliefs could be expressed freely. As time passed they realized that having this kind of freedom caused problems between different belief systems. Many people started questioning the founding of their nation and what the foundation was made of. This questioning is still going on today and people are torn between letting prayer in to the public school system or keeping it out.

Annie Laurie Gaylor quoted Thomas Jefferson in her article The Case Against School Prayer, “No citizen shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever…” and that to “compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of [religious] opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical” (Gaylor, 1995, p. 7). No man should have to be subject to anything that he does not believe in. Prayer should not be allowed in the public school system because of the idea of separation of church and state and the First Amendment.

To have prayer in the public school system is against the idea of separation of church and state. The state should not institute school prayer because the public schools are for education, not a place where religion should be taught (Gaylor, 1995, p. 1). The state should not force every child to say a prayer in the classroom because not everyone believes...

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...,” (1875), Ulysses S. Grant stated to “Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate” (Gaylor, 1995, p. 7). School prayer should not be permitted because of the idea of separation of church and state and the First Amendment.

Work Cited

Gaylor, Annie Laurie. The Case Against School Prayer. “Keep the Church and State Forever Separate.” Madison, Wisconsin: Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., 1995. ( www.ffrf.org/pray.html )

Kozlowski, James C. “First Amendment Dilemma: Civic Event Fund Discriminated Against Prayer Day.” Parks & Recreation, Sept. 2000: 1. ( www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1145/9_35/66035659/print.jhtml )

The First Amendment of the Constitution

The Holy Bible. “New Testament.” St. Matthew 6:5-6.

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