Coercive Prayer
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This amendment, commonly called the Establishment Clause, forms the foundation of the right of every American to practice their chosen religion freely and without the interference of the government. In 1947, the Supreme Court issued a statement emphasizing the separation of school and state based on this amendment. Those in favor of the practice of school-organized prayer draw their basis from the belief that students must be taught morals in school, and that morals cannot be taught properly without the use of religion. Proponents of this viewpoint believe that an ethical code cannot exist without some higher power dictating it to mankind. There are flaws in this argument. First is the assumption that morals must be taught in public schools. Many people hold the belief that it is the duty of the parents, and not the responsibility of the school system, to teach the students matters of ethics. Another mistake is to assume that a moral law cannot be taught without the use of religion. There are many logical, n
If, during the act of coercive prayer, administrators isolated students who maintained beliefs different from those practiced by the majority from their classmates, the administration would be facilitating the opening of an emotional and social rift between the students of different religious sects. Public schools are for everyone, whether they are Buddhist, Catholic, or Muslim. The ranks of those who are in favor of the practice seem to be mostly comprised of conservatives who see the Supreme Court's ban as a threat to their practice of evangelizing those of other religions in order to swell their own ranks. Even though the Supreme Court has set a precedent, there will be many cases respecting coercive prayer brought before courts throughout the country for as long as this country stands. Many people mistake the religious indifference of public schools for hostility. The purpose of public schools is to educate, not indoctrinate. Public schools must be very careful to neither discriminate for or against any single religion, and people often incorrectly perceive the schools attitudes toward religion. During the early years of public schooling, everyone who attended school shared the same beliefs. A another line of reasoning involves the theory that public schools in the United States were originally organized by early settlers to teach children to read and write with the intent to further the settlers religion, and the established system worked well for almost two hundred years. The practice of organized prayer in schools invades the student's right to an education free of the discrimination which organized prayer would encourage. Even though this country is based upon the principle of majority rule, it is reassuring to see that the minority does have a chance for justice. If you don't agree to follow the morals of the rest of the citizens, you will quickly be incarcerated. Today, an infinite number of religious groups are represented in our nations public schools. Keep coercive prayer out of our public schools forever! . The non-discrimination requirement may seem wrong to many, but when religion has a home in public schools, it singles out the student who disagrees with the theology being taught.
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