Prayer in Public Schools: Should It Be Constitutional

Prayer in Public Schools: Should It Be Constitutional

The courts have ruled against prayer in school. Many agree with decision; yet many disagree including myself. Prayer should be allowed in public school because it is already practiced, it prevents immoral acts, and it enhances the learning environment. The issue of prayer in school has been debated in the U.S. since the North West Treaty (1787and 1789) which states: " Religion, morality, and the knowledge being necessary for good government and the happiness of man kind, schools and the means of learning shall forever be engorged." Thus, religion, which includes prayer, was deemed to be necessary.

Many people believe that prayer is not allowed in the public schools. In fact prayer is allowed in the school system on buses, at the flagpole, in student religious groups, and in the cafeteria. However, prayer is not permitted in the classroom itself when class is in session. Prayer in class would violate the principles of church- state separation, which is defined by court interpretations of the First Amendment. This requires that public school teachers, principals, and boards to be religiously neutral. The reason for this is to prevent any arguments among students and teachers about their specific religion.

Public schools had prayer for nearly two hundred years before the supreme court ruled that state- mandated class prayers were unconstitutional (Engle, 1962) The fact that prayer was practiced for nearly two-hundred years established it by precedent as a beneficial practice in our schools. Since the court outlawed prayer, the nation has been in steady moral decline. Former secretary of education William Bennett revealed in his cultured indexes that between 1960 and1990 there was a steady moral decline. During this period divorce doubled, teenage pregnancy went up 200%, teen suicide increased 300%, child abuse reached an all time high, violent crime went up 500% and abortion increased 1000% . Morals must be taught and they can not be taught properly without religion, because most of the strong moral beliefs stem from religion such as the Ten Commandments.