Prayer in American Public Schools
PRAYER IN AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
By: Jorge Yeshayahu Gonzáles-Lara
Fahrenheit 151 was written in 1952 and describes a society where freedom is an illusion and a small group imposses their views to the whole society. Public school appears to be the most important and effective instrument of political socialization in Fahrenheit 151. Today this novel links with the controversy of prayer and education in public school.
Today the concern continues over religion and prayer in public schools. There is fear among many that, in seeking to avoid public entanglement with private religion, our schools fail to instill in students the kinds of educational and moral values shared by Americans of all faiths[3]. The Christian coalition believes that the government should permit prayer in public schools in order to restore family values from the moral collapse that declares America is a AChristian nation.@ The American Civil Liberties union believes that religious faith flourishes in America precisely because our founding fathers were determined to protect religion from government and the complete separation of church and state required by the First Amendment in the Constitution.
The Controversial Views
These controversial views divide the American society and censorship to minority groups. Fahrenheit 151 reflects the censorship that American society suffers today from groups such as the Christian coalition, who tried to impose their values to the society.
The argument is that because schools are special institutions designed to promote learning and not bickering, even the issue of freedom of expression is illusory. The final argument that conservatives use to underscore the special status of schools is that censorship is necessary to screen for libel and obscenity and material that would offend the community. The Christian coalition has been trying to impose their religious beliefs and practices on others through government sponsorship.
History defending religious freedom
For more the 75 years, the American Civil Liberties Union has defended religious freedom and challenged attempts by sectarians to impose their religious beliefs. The American Civil Liberties Union believes that the answer lies in a time tested formula: the complete separation of church and state required by the First Amendment in the Constitution.[5] Religious speech, like other speech, is protected by the First Amendment. Public School students have the right to read the Bible, recite the rosary, pray before meals and examinations and discuss their religious views with their fellow students, as long as they do so outside of the education process.
Final Thoughts
Many Americans look to religion as the primary source of values and urge a stronger role for religion in public life. Prayer and perhaps other religious observances, they argue would be an antidote to today social problems. The American Civil Liberties Union finally concluded that religion should be practiced at home, the church, the synagogue, the temple and the mosque and not at official events.
Public school appears to be the most important and effective instrument of political socialization in the United States. The Christian coalition and the Civil Liberties Union have been presenting controversial views to approach family values. The Christian coalition believes that prayer in school should be restored and family values; the Civil Liberties Union believes that prayer should be practiced private.
Fahrenheit 151 was written in 1952 and describes a society where freedom is an illusion and a small group imposses their views to the whole society. Public school appears to be the most important and effective instrument of political socialization in Fahrenheit 151. Today this novel links with the controversy of prayer and education in public school.
The controversy over officially sponsored prayer in public schools did not begin in 1962, for the reason that the Supreme Court first ruled that such observances violate the Establishment Clause. It began more than 100 years earlier, in the 1830s, when waves of Italian and Irish Catholic immigrants came to this country and objected to compulsory readings of the Protestant King James Bible[1] and the recitation of Protestant prayers in most public schools.[2]
Today the concern continues over religion and prayer in public schools. There is fear among many that, in seeking to avoid public entanglement with private religion, our schools fail to instill in students the kinds of educational and moral values shared by Americans of all faiths[3]. The Christian coalition believes that the government should permit prayer in public schools in order to restore family values from the moral collapse that declares America is a AChristian nation.@ The American Civil Liberties union believes that religious faith flourishes in America precisely because our founding fathers were determined to protect religion from government and the complete separation of church and state required by the First Amendment in the Constitution.
The Controversial Views
These controversial views divide the American society and censorship to minority groups. Fahrenheit 151 reflects the censorship that American society suffers today from groups such as the Christian coalition, who tried to impose their values to the society.
The Christian coalition thinks that America is suffering from moral collapse because the government has been prohibited from endorsing religion by the courts. They argued that if public school teachers led students in officially approved daily prayer that might help curb teen pregnancy or stop drug abuse. Recently, the Christian coalition took over local school boards in order to censor material they do not like from textbooks and libraries, they should shut down sex education classes, which required the teaching of creationism and generally ran the public schools from a narrow fundamentalist Christian point of view. The fundamentalist and conservative view reflects an authoritarian tradition in education that sought to imbue youngsters with respect for their elders as a moral value.[4]
The argument is that because schools are special institutions designed to promote learning and not bickering, even the issue of freedom of expression is illusory. The final argument that conservatives use to underscore the special status of schools is that censorship is necessary to screen for libel and obscenity and material that would offend the community. The Christian coalition has been trying to impose their religious beliefs and practices on others through government sponsorship.
History defending religious freedom
For more the 75 years, the American Civil Liberties Union has defended religious freedom and challenged attempts by sectarians to impose their religious beliefs. The American Civil Liberties Union believes that the answer lies in a time tested formula: the complete separation of church and state required by the First Amendment in the Constitution.[5] Religious speech, like other speech, is protected by the First Amendment. Public School students have the right to read the Bible, recite the rosary, pray before meals and examinations and discuss their religious views with their fellow students, as long as they do so outside of the education process.
The issue of students-initiated prayer
has arisen in the context of graduation ceremonies. Until 1992, it was common in some parts of the country for a member of the clergy to offer a prayer during graduation exercises. But that year, the Supreme Court ruled in Lee v. Weisman that including prayer in a school sponsored and supervised graduation ceremony violated the Establishment Clause.[6] American Civil Liberties Union have concerned that a crisis of values exists in our society is widespread in the face of rampant violent crime, troubled and disintegrating families, and many young people=s seeming hopelessness and lack of direction.
has arisen in the context of graduation ceremonies. Until 1992, it was common in some parts of the country for a member of the clergy to offer a prayer during graduation exercises. But that year, the Supreme Court ruled in Lee v. Weisman that including prayer in a school sponsored and supervised graduation ceremony violated the Establishment Clause.[6] American Civil Liberties Union have concerned that a crisis of values exists in our society is widespread in the face of rampant violent crime, troubled and disintegrating families, and many young people=s seeming hopelessness and lack of direction.
Final Thoughts
Many Americans look to religion as the primary source of values and urge a stronger role for religion in public life. Prayer and perhaps other religious observances, they argue would be an antidote to today social problems. The American Civil Liberties Union finally concluded that religion should be practiced at home, the church, the synagogue, the temple and the mosque and not at official events.
Public school appears to be the most important and effective instrument of political socialization in the United States. The Christian coalition and the Civil Liberties Union have been presenting controversial views to approach family values. The Christian coalition believes that prayer in school should be restored and family values; the Civil Liberties Union believes that prayer should be practiced private.
The United States is the most religiously diverse nation in the world. More than 1,500 different religious bodies and sects, including 75 varieties of Baptists alone, coexist and flourish in our nation. We have 3,000 churches, mosques and synagogues[7]. The debate over education and prayer should be ongoing and constructive.
It is, after all, a debate about the future, about the fate of our most precious resource: our children. I believe that public schools do and should impart moral values to our children, including the civic virtues of honest, good citizenship, sportsmanship, ethics and respect for the rights and freedoms of others.
Bibliography
American Civil Liberties Union. Church and State. Briefing Paper. New York: Civil Liberties Union. 1995.
Reichmann, Henry. Censorship and Selection. Issues and Answers for Schools. Illinois: American Library Association. 1990.
Hunter, James. Articles of Faith, Articles of Peace. Washington: The Brookings Institution. 1984.
Kristof, Nicholas. Freedom of the High School Press. New York: University Press of America. 1983.[1] A bitter conflict erupted, including riots, the expulsion of Catholic children from public schools, the burning of convents and even some deaths.[2] American Civil Liberties Union, Church and States, New York: Briefing Paper, Number#3, 1995.[3] Reichman, Censorship and Selection, Chicago: American Library Association, 1990, pp. 1.[4] Kristof Nichals, Freedom of the High School Press, New York: University press of America, pp. 38.[5] American Civil Liberties Union, Church and States, Number #3, 1995.[6] American Civil Liberties Union.[7] According to the Universal Almanac and other resources Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Moslem and atheist parents objected to Christian practices in the public schools. According to recent surveys, more than 90 percent of Americans profess a belief in God.
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