Gorgias Essay
             Imagine walking into the classroom just as your instructor is handing back grades on a major test you recently took. She hands you yours and you see you have a grade much higher than you expected, in fact, it is one of the highest grades in the class. You suddenly exclaim,Thank you, Jesus,? so that it is heard by everyone in class. Before realizing it, you have just committed a crime. In today's society, prayer in schools is essential to help one get through the day. Denying an individual his or her right to pray in a public setting seems to strip them of their First Amendment rights, which claim citizens have the freedom of speech.
             The issue of prayer in schools has had much debate over the past century, when the Supreme Court made its first ruling regarding religion in schools. During the case ofIllinois vs. McCollum? in 1948, the court ruled that allowing religious teachers to come into public schools to give religious instruction violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which prohibits government establishment of religion. The court said the policy tears down thewall" separating church and state, (a phrase created by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Westbury Baptists after the Constitution had been written and ratified. Since 1948, there have been numerous trials regarding the same issue. On June 25, l962, the U.S. Supreme Court removed prayer from our nation's schools. 39 million students were forbidden to do what they and their predecessors had been doing since the founding of our nation, which was publicly calling upon the name of the Lord at the beginning of each school day.
             The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to remove prayer from schools, has been leading to other religious removals. Even thePledge of Allegiance? has had some dispute because it states that the United States isone nation under God.? Then people began to think,Well, what about those who don't believe in God? Are they ...