136 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
136 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
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RELIGION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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In the past Religion was confined to the state now with religious freedom
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everything has changed or at least started to change. In order for religion to
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be in a private school now it is again trying to be in Public schools. People
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ask "why can't freedom to acknowledge god be enjoyed again by children in every
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schoolroom across this land?"S01T In the past, a long time ago children
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always prayed before class started and before lunch. But things h ave changed,
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"in 1791 the separation of church and state"S02T started. Although it was
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made clear about the separation of the two "as late as 1951 some twenty states
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permitted schools to begin the day by reading aloud a passage of the
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bible."S03T Bu t that had to stop. People didn't have the same beliefs when
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it comes to religion, if a family absent even believe in god why should their
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child be forced to pray? On many different occasions questions similar to this
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one were brought up and complained about. That is what started it all real
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big.
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When complaining, arguing and fighting all started over the silent moment. In
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1978 a few lawyers got together and considered a constitutional law. The
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original law said that public school teachers in gr ades 1-6 "shall announce
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that a period of silence, not to exceed one minute, shall be observed for
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meditation."S04T This law did not work for long, because it still allowed
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oral prayer in public high schools. Later in 1981, the Alabama State Senator D
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onald G. Holmes successfully passed a bill that included all grades calling it
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"the moment of silence"S05T this law said that "the teacher (was) to announce
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that the silent moment may be used for voluntary prayer."S06T Although it
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would have to be si lent prayer. Even after this new law started the lawyers
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that were opposed to this were trying to say that students "do not have a right
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to pray in school"S07T silently or otherwise because of growing impressions
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that affect their life. The silent mom ent supposedly "(forced) religion on
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children."S08T I don't agree with that at all, if there has to be a moment of
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silence then any child can use that moment however he or she wants, it does not
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necessarily have to be used fro prayer. Usually "the chi ldren who have been
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brought up with prayer or some type of religion are usually proven to be
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better"S09T kids. I have friends who go to private schools where praying in
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class out loud is perfectly O.K. and normal. This praying in the classroom
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usually would have a pretty good size affect on the rest of a person's life.
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Although when praying aloud it could force one type of religion on a student
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rather than having them have more of a choice of what type of religion they
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want or if they even want to ha ve a religion. When there would be the
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religion in the classrooms. "School children not participating in the prayers
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or the bible readings (would be) asked or required to leave the room."S010T
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This has been another big dispute because the bill of rig hts states that there
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shall be "freedom of religion"S011T therefore this means that if a person
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does not believe in god or what ever the instance might be then they don't have
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to. This means if you want to have any type of religion you may. The childr
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en who are forced to leave the classroom to stand in the hall are forced to
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make a statement that says "we do not believe in te god of te state (or) we do
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not believe that prayer should be publicly displayed in a public
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schoolhouse."S012T This was all thought to be by mainly every one all wrong,
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therefore if a child wished not to participate in the pledge o allegiance or
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what ever it might be they did not have to leave the classroom, stand silently
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in the halls, or write a statement in stead they were allowed to just sit
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quietly in their seats.
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Religion in public schools would be good for certain students but the silent
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moment is good enough for now. Since religion has been tried in public schools
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and hasn't exactly worked, the groups of children who wish to have prayer
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meetings with other school members are allowed to have meetings, groups, clubs,
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ect. before, at lunch or after school.
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"Religion (in the public schools) can change a persons life"S013T if a parent
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wants their child to have religion they can send their child to a private
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school and if a parent does not want their child to pressured in to having a
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religion they should be able to send their child to a public school and if he
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or she wishes to atend meetings then they can do so on their own.
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Religion can change a person life sometimes for the better, but then again
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sometimes for the worse, although the silent moment cannot affect anything
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"freedom to acknowledge god in every school room across this land,"S014T
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wouldn't al ways be a bad idea.
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W1 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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W0
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"School Board Bans Open Forums to Prohibit a Student Group Prayer."\Christ Today\(February 1, 1985) 48-49.
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Bosmajian, Haig. "To Pray or Not to Pray"\The Humanist Magazine,\(January/February, 198
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5) 13-17.
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Gest, Ted. "What High Court Heard About School Prayer."\U.S. News,\(December 17, 1984) 71.
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Lewis, C. Anne. "Creeping Religiosity and Federal Education Policy."\PHI Delta Kappan,\(November, 1984) 163-164.
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Roberts, Fransis. "The Uproar Over Sch
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ool Prayer."\Parents,\(January 18,1985) 55-57.
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W1 FOOTNOTES
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W0
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S01TFransis Roberts, "The Uproar Over School Prayer,"\Parents,\(November, 1984), p.38.
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S02TRoberts, p.39.
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S03TRoberts, p.38
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S04TBeth Spring, "Can St
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ates Allow Prayer in Public Schools?"\News World,\(January 18, 1985), p.56.
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S05TSpring, p.57
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S06TRoberts, p.38
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S07TSpring, p.57
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S08TTed Gest, "What High Court Heard About School Prayer,"\U.S. News,\(December 17, 1984), p.71
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.
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S09THaig Bosmajian, "To Pray or Not To Pray,"\The Humanist\(January/February, 1985), p.14.
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S010TBosmajian, p.15.
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S011TGest, p.71.
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S012TBosmajian, p.15.
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S013TAnne Lewis, "Creeping Religiosity and Federal Education
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Policy,"\PHI Delta Kappan,\(November, 1984), p.163.
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S014TRoberts, p.38
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W1 THESIS
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W0
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Freedom to acknowledge God by children in every school room across this land
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can sometimes but not always be acknowledged.
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