Religion

9 Pages 2235 Words

case for prayer in school

Many people believe that prayer and religion should be placed in schools for the betterment of children of all ages and society as a whole. There are many strong opposing facts to say why prayer and religion should not be allowed in schools. Those who feel religion has a place in school say that the violence of the world would be diminished with religion and prayer in schools. While those who feel otherwise believe prayer in school would not do any good and that it blatantly violates the 1st and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution. In this paper I will argue why religion and prayer should be placed in school to increase morale and behavior of children, and how prayer in school would decrease violence in and out of school.

The separation of Church and State is a fundamental principle of American government which rests primarily on the Constitution's First Amendment, which states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." While many may argue that prayer in school violates the constitution, our First Amendment didn't separate God and government but actually encouraged religion. The First Amendment of the Constitution declares that the federal government cannot establish one religion for all of the people. The simple idea of everyone in our nation being limited to one form of religion is inconceivable. The second section insists that the government should do nothing to prevent people from exercising religion. But forbidding officiated prayer in schools discourages religion, doesn't it? The founders of the Constitution recognized the freedom of religion as an important factor in establishing a democracy. The government is not upholding their part of the Constitution. They are trying to tell people that saying prayers in public school is unconstitutional.

I attended a public school which allowed us to pray before class. Pray...