Religion In Schools Most Public schools don’t allow for teachers to talk about religion in their classrooms. The debate about religion in public schools has been going on since the 1800’s. If students asked their teacher about their religion the teachers would have to ignore what they said and keep on teaching. But how fair is that to the teachers, what if they could help their students understand something better. It has gotten so bad in the United States that they barely can say the Pledge Of Allegiance, just because it has ‘In God We Trust”. By the Amended Constitution of the United States we have the freedom of speech and religion, at school kids should have the freedom to pray whenever they would like to because of these freedoms. …show more content…
The day after my classmate died the teachers were told to go on like it was a normal day. We couldn’t even stop and grieve for one day. So then the churches came together as one and we stood up against the school and we prayed together and stayed strong together with our friends as though we were family. If I could go back to any day it would be the day after my classmate died when our whole school came together as one not thinking about ourselves, but thinking about others and comforting them so they knew that they were not alone in this fight. It wasn’t always like this. When the United States was founded we had prayer in school and much of what was taught was biblical, but that changed when people decided that a minority group should get to make the …show more content…
There are many reasons I feel prayer should be put back in schools. The first being that our government was founded on biblical principal. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by God with certain unalienable rights..."() The second reason is that the first amendment of the constitution encourages religion. It states that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof” It states that the government can 't form one religion for everyone to follow. Thirdly, the United States Congress has prayed at the beginning of every session since they were formed. Also prayer was practice for almost 200 years in the schools before being ruled unlawful. It establishes it by precedent as a valid and beneficial practice in our schools. Since prayer was taken out of school the nation has seen a steady moral decline. “Former Secretary of Education William Bennett revealed in his cultural indexes that between 1960 and 1990 there was a steady moral decline. During this period 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%. There is a strong correlation between the expulsion of prayer from our schools and the decline in mortality.”()
The issue of prayer in school cannot be dealt with in a manner that will please everyone. The main thing that needs to be stressed is that tolerance of other people and their beliefs is the only true way to ensure that everyone has freedom and equality in America. Until that day comes there will always be groups of people who cause disruption in our schools and take away from what the focus really should be: quality education and an understanding of others as well.
In 1962 the Supreme Court decided that public schools did not have the power to authorize school prayer. This decision made public school in the U.S. more atheistic than many European nations. For example, crosses still hang on the classroom walls in Poland, and the Ten Commandments are displayed in Hungary. There are prayers held at the beginning of legislative and judicial sessions and every President has mentioned a divine power in his inaugural speech. In keeping with a spirit of religious freedom as stated in the First Amendment, there is no reason why students should not be allowed to have a moment of silence during the school day when they can pray or do as they choose.
Praying in school was first addressed in the Supreme Court in 1962 in the Engle v. Vitale case. The Establishment Clause emerged and stated Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The court ruled the Union Free School District in Hyde Park, NY had violated the First Amendment by directing the principals to cause the following prayer to be said aloud by each class in the presence of a teacher at the beginning of each school day: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country” (Longley, "Public"). I agree with the courts ruling because not all students in a classroom share the same beliefs. To cause everyone to say this prayer surely violates their rights.
Religion is one of the most controversial issues in society today. The concern of allowing prayer in schools is an on-going debate and has resulted in numerous lawsuits. Religious school clubs, after school activities, curriculums, and moments of silence during school are just a few of the court cases that judges have administered. People in favor of prayer in schools believe that their children can only learn certain values through religious practice. On the other hand, an individual against religious practice in schools views this issue as an infringement on his or her children’s rights as Americans.
"God help, I'm so lost!" If you listen carefully, this is a common thought that is heard throughout many schools in the nation. Is this thought appropriate? The following statement clearly shows that the law allows students and adults to practice religion, but at the same time be respective of others and their beliefs even if they do believe or if they don't. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, or to petition the government for a redress of grievances." (First Amendment, The Constitution of the United States). Prayer is not normally permitted as a scheduled part of classroom activities, because it would result in the violation of the principle of church-state separation, which has been defined by court interpretations of the 1st Amendment to the U.S, Constitution. The separation principle is extended to Public school as an arm of the government, with an exception which can be permitted if, during the school year, a mixture of prayers, statements, etc are delivered, using material derived from a number of different religions and secular sources. So far, this has never been tried in a school or ruled upon by a court (Religion in Public).
There are many different philosophies regarding prayer in public school. It seems to be a difficult issue to decide upon. The opinions are wide-ranging and convoluted. This paper will attempt to highlight the many ideas and opinions as to whether prayers in public school should be allowed and to what extent. It will further show how our founders' idea of a separate church and state has been taken out of context and why prayer in school should be allowed, but not required.
"I do not believe that any type of religion should ever be introduced into the public schools of the United States." -Thomas Edison. Religion and prayer in public schools is a big controversy for schools in the United States. School officials cannot take sides on religion since it will violate the first amendment which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Establishing a specific religion in public school violates the first amendment, therefore public schools have to remain neutral when it comes to the matter of religion. Some people believe that teaching about religion should not be allowed considering it violates the separation of church and state, but that is not true. There are many issues regarding religion in public schools, however exercising your personal religion independently is not one of them. (Leitch, 1)
INDTRODUCTION “Sex and Religion”? Those two don’t really go hand in hand,” commented a freshman student from UF. Like this student, numerous people around the world believe this misconception to be true. Whether people argue for or against the importance of gender in religion, more than just what goes on in the bedroom has been heating up lately. Many debates have sparked due to the negative connotation associated with sex when confronted about its position in religious cultures.
Something that can be beneficial to our nation should not be taken away. Even though religion offends some people, it should be allowed in public schools because of its influence on America and western civilizations, and its ability to help form closer relationships. In the early 1960s, people started to view religion in public school systems as a problem. Parents thought that their children should not be taught religion in school. Being taught religion is not the problem, forcing religion is (Boston).
Nothing means more to a parent than their children. What is at odds in the debate over vaccinations is how they show it. On one side, you have parents that believe that vaccinating their kids is the best way to keep them healthy. On the other side you have parents that believe saving their children’s souls is more important, and vaccinating their children goes against their religious beliefs. The 1st amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” That right is under attack by mandatory vaccinations in America. Whether we believe in vaccinations or not doesn’t matter, protecting religious freedom is what is at stake. Bobby Jindal said it best,
In the beginning, the argument was whether or not the school day should be started with a prayer over the PA system of school. This didn't last long, as anyone can see that there is so much diversity between the religious beliefs of high school kids today. The argument then moved on to replace "prayer" with moment of silence."
“If we ever forget that we are “One nation under God,” then we will be a nation gone under” -- Ronald Reagan (BrainyQuote). Ronald Reagan makes a great point. America was created as a place for religious freedom. Now that freedom is beginning to be stripped away from us. One of the biggest reasons is due to the argument concerning whether or not religion should be allowed in school. It is believed, by many, that allowing education and religion to coincide is going against the first amendment. This argument is one that dates back to the eighteen hundreds, and has yet to be resolved. It is an American citizen’s right to freely express and learn about religion wherever they please, including the public school system.
Religion plays an enormous role in the history of mankind. Wars have been fought over it, lives have been surrounded by it, and it has directly or indirectly shaped the lives of many individuals. Culture and religion play a large role in developing each other. People’s religion is decided by their culture. The prominence or the lack of religion will develop someone’s religious identity have play a core role in determining what that person believes.
Religion is a major controversy in modern society. Some reach a final conclusion early on that there is no God or Supreme Being; instead they believe that there is life and then nothing more. Others have so much faith that they are actually willing to die for their religion. It could be viewed as drastic but it is also reality. As a soon to be missionary I see the benefits of religious views and the impact it has on people for their well being. For my religion, I am willing to serve two years of my life to teach other the joy of the gospel while sacrificing my time away from my friends and family. An apostle of my church once said "The most effective missionaries, member and full time, act out of love… If we lack this love for others we should pray for it." -Elder Dallin H. Oaks. This quote just reminds me of why I am so willing to want to go out and serve The Lord. I will do it because of his love for me. But not to be biased of my own personal religion, I want to show that believing in something and having faith is better than nothing. Atheists are people that have a belief that there is nothing more after this life to me would seem to have really nothing to live for believing that they are just here to die which is a sad message. So in this essay I would like to describe why religion is so important and such an amazing thing.
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.