As a nation we should strongly consider allowing prayer back into the public school system classroom. Why not in the classroom? Students are already allowed to pray on the bus, flag pole, cafeteria, etc. Therefore, prayer should be allowed in the classroom also because prayer helps to prevent illegal and immoral acts, and prayer also helps to produce a stable learning environment. Not to forget that this nation was built on the principles of God.
In 1962 the Supreme Court handed down a historic decision in regards to prayer in the classroom. The court ruled seven to one that it was unconstitutional for school officials to mandate an official school prayer, and to make the recital of that prayer mandatory. This decision was obtained in the Engel vs. Vitale case. I wasn’t around at that time but after a considerable amount of research it looks as if this one decision put this country in a free fall toward moral decline. “Since prayer was removed from public school classrooms in 1962, we have had a six-fold increase in violent crime, our divorce rate has tripled, births to single mothers have increased five-fold, the teenage suicide rate has tripled, and SAT scores (standardized college entrance test) have dropped 80 points (approximately 10%)” (Creation Science Evangelism para 4). These statics alone have convinced me that we need to allow prayer back into our classrooms.
Looking at the numerous amounts of changes that have taken place since prayer was removed from the classroom; I have come to the conclusion that our schools are far worse off than they were in the past. Our children have become less obedient and more self absorbed. The principles that our schools were built on are totally declining—prayer, discipline, and obedience. We must understand that morals are generally taught by the parent and teachers. Without religion and prayer how can morals possibly be taught properly? Personally I think our allowance of the secular viewpoint and the disregard of prayer is the primary cause for the failing of our school system and our children.
I fully understand that the removal of prayer form the classroom is not solely responsible for all the problems in our school. Some might argue and I agree that a part of the problem is the failure of the parents to turn the television off and ensuring that their children are completing their homework assignments. But, statics show that "the year after prayer was removed from schools the pregnancy rate for girls under fifteen rose from five thousand to twenty-seven thousand" (popular issues para 5). Shortly after that SAT scores dropped, drug use increased, and violence rose to an all time high. The importance of prayer has been documented and identified since the establishment of this county. There have been many forward steps that we have taken for the advancement of our school system since the beginning of time; but when prayer was removed from the classroom that was a huge step backward. I believe as John Adams once quoted “that school prayer will always promote good citizenship”.
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Oh, this is a hot-button issue all right. You say right in the beginning that "Therefore, prayer should be allowed in the classroom also because prayer helps to prevent illegal and immoral acts, and prayer also helps to produce a stable learning environment"--and I would debate you strongly on this. Many religious leaders (Jim Bakker, Ted Haggart, plenty of Cathloic priests) lead prayers and communities and then go and commit either social sins or other ones. Prayer itself is no protection against sinning. How do we explain the Inquisition?
ReplyDeleteI just took a look at your link about the pregnancy statistics after prayer from schools was removed. I don't see any sourcing in that article. Where is their citation? Proof? This is probably not the article you'd want to use as a source. Make sure you always have the name of the author and clear distinction with statistics that say who did the study. The unknown author says, "A recent poll," but which one? This is problematic.
However, you do bring up interesting points. But I wonder--would all kids have to pray? What about good children who are unreligious? Many are nowadays. Would this prayer be affecting the constitutional protections from those in the religious majority to those in the religious minority? Your post really makes me wonder.
Could the natural alternative be that parents who want kids to pray in schools send their kids to private religious schools? This post seems to suggest that schools are the primary moral imposer, not the family...
I'm in the middle of this argument for a few a reasons. First, if one violent crime were to be prevented by simply allowing prayer in school, then I'd be all for it. However, how can you really debate that all those issues you mention aren't because of another problem such as the lack of discipline? Example: I come from an extremely large family (8 sisters, 2 brothers, 23 nieces/nephews, 13 great-nieces/nephews) so I see a small hint of what the problems are and it starts from the home with discipline. Allowing a 2 year old to drop the "F" bomb and not scold him for it is beyond me. Or allowing your 16 year old to drop out of High School for no reason is unspeakable and frustrating because as their aunt/great-aunt I have no authority to step in. Second, if prayer were allowed in school, which religion would we determine to be fit for our children? Would it be Catholic, Christian, Baptist, Muslim, or Hebrew just to name a few? Saying the National Anthem or Pledge of Allegiance is not technically a prayer but more of patriotisms for the USA. This should be mandatory for all citizens of the US in or out of school and if you don't like, do us all a favor and go to another country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Banda as far as the National Anthem or Pledge of Allegiance being allowed in school. I too think that it should be mandatory for all US citizens. As far as the prayer issues, Banda brings forth an issue of which religion would determine how our children were led in prayer. I have always been for prayer in school because I felt that it just started the day with everyine on one accord and with a positive well-being. I feel that a lot of awful things have happened in schools since that foundation has been taken away, although it might not be directly related to removing prayer from school. Now that Banda has brought up the issue of which religion, I am not so sure. Maybe there should be a moment of silence for people to pray to themselves silently according to their own personal religions.
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