School Prayer
"There is no such source and cause of strife, quarrel, fights, malignant opposition, persecution, and war, and all evil in the state, as religion. Let it once enter our civil affairs, our government would soon be destroyed. Let it once enter our common schools, they would be destroyed." Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Weiss v. District Board, 1890-MAR-18. Religious faith can be a powerful force, either for good or evil. When the U.S. Constitution was written, the country's political leaders were well aware of the many decades of religiously-motivated strife that had resulted in so many deaths throughout Europe. In order to avoid transplanting religious hatreds from Europe to America, they incorporated the Establishment Clause into the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As interpreted by various courts, it requires a separation between church and state. This seems to be a beneficial relationship that has served the country well: Church affiliation and attendance in the U.S. are the highest of all industrialized nations. The USA has relative peace among followers of different religions, and of no religion. The country has avoided the type of religiously-based conflicts, civil wars, crimes against humanity, and genocides wh
It might meet all of the constitutional requirements of the First Amendment. Public schools must remain neutral with respect to religion: They may not promote or denigrate a particular religion in relation to another religion or to secularism. But I'm also a Baptist who believe that salvation is primarily personal and private, that my relationship is directly with God and not through any intermediary. The violence in our streets -- not value neutral. For example, statements from the American Ethical Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Interfaith Alliance, etc. If a student is told he can't wear a yarmulke, for example, we have an obligation to tell the school the law says the student can, most definitely, wear a yarmulke to school. Religion has a proper place in private and a proper place in public because the public square belongs to all Americans. This system would not give preference for any one religion over any other. Some students have been prevented even from saying grace before lunch. We had a big Catholic population in my school and in my hometown. Now, just because the First Amendment sometimes gets the balance a little bit wrong in specific decisions by specific people doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the First Amendment. One necessary result of this principle is that public schools remain neutral on religion. There are those who do believe our schools should be value-neutral and that religion has no place inside the schools. But I did that -- I have been a part of this debate we are talking about.
Common topics in this essay:
Almighty God,
Supreme Court,
Drug-Free America,
Interfaith Alliance,
Justice Amendment,
First Amendment,
Laughter Students,
Clinton Speech,
Americans It's,
Colin Powell,
public schools,
supreme court,
religious freedom,
separation church,
freedom religion,
religious expression,
religious views,
establishment religion,
wall separation,
students pray,
wall separation church,
respecting establishment religion,
law respecting establishment,
ministry whatsoever nor,
worship ministry whatsoever,
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Acceptance Essays
