Term Paper on "School Prayer"

Term Paper 4 pages (1397 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Prayer in School is a Direct Violation of the Constitutional Mandate of Separation of Church and State

This paper presents a discussion about school prayer. The author of this paper believes that prayer in school will be a direct violation of the constitutional mandate that church and state remain separated. There were three sources used to complete this paper.

OUR FOUNDING FATHERS ESTABLISHED the GUIDELINE for a REASON

For many years now, the issue of school prayer has made the forefront to the news. We hear that students defy direct orders from school officials and stand to recite the Lord's Prayer at graduation. We hear about principals being hauled into court by the ACLU for allowing students to pray on campus. It is a volatile issue that remains close to the heart on both sides of the argument. The bottom line, however, is that America proudly waves its diversity banner to the rest of the world. We brag about the fact that we welcome and encourage diversity and we are founded on the premise that freedom of religion should be a right of every person. Our very constitution, which is used as the blueprint for our nation, insists that church and state forever be separate entities. Our founding fathers saw into the future and realized what kinds of problems would occur if the most diversity welcoming nation on earth, suddenly began mixing religion with government. Because of what we represent as a nation, we can never allow prayer in our public school system. To do so will violate everything we represent to ourselves, our children and the world at large.

There are two main issues relating to the separation of church and state and several smaller ones. The two main elements of argument are that we cannot rightfully determine which faith should be followed in prayer, therefore, we trod on the toes of those who are studying a different denomination (Shapiro, 1995). This totally defeats the government's mandate that all are treated equally regardless of religious affiliation. To allow prayer in public school sets the stage for discriminatory actions and feelings, when the students of different faiths either try and convince the school that their prayers are what should be used, or they pull back and withdraw because of their very differences (Rice, 1997).. The second issue is the constituently mandated church and state separation allows for freedom of speech in a manner that a religious foundation might not allow.

In the first argument, we must understand the problems prayers in schools would cause. In our nations schools, we have Christians, Muslims, Jewish, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Bahais and many other religious followers. If we decide to allow prayer in public school, whose do we allow (Shapiro, 1995)? Do the Christian prayers get recited, or the Jewish ones? How will the Bahai's feel when they are told they can pray to Jesus but Bahallua is ignored? This issue can easily extrapolate into friction that grows as the factions and faiths square off, vying for administrative support (Shapiro, 1995). One only has to study the history of the world to realize that Holy Wars were based in this very type of disagreement. The Holy Wars are an incredibly solid reminder of why church and state must remain separated, and allowing prayer into school starts the ball rolling for the meshing to begin. We can look across the ocean to Ireland to be reminded of what trouble religious differences can cause. Do we really want to bring that type of animosity into our public school system in the name of allowing prayer? While initially the changes may seem innocuous, in that the schools might decide not to choose a faith to allow, but instead to tell students that they can say their own prayers quietly, however, it will not take long for the public reciting to begin. And then we have the atheists. Are we supposed to guarantee a free public education to all who live here; then force them to be subjected to a belief in a higher power whether they want to or not? The laws in this nation mandate compulsory school attendance. How can we in good conscious… READ MORE

How to Reference "School Prayer" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Prayer Diary Term Paper

Prayer Diary

Entry One remembered the first time I prayed formally with my mom, in a moment other than simply saying grace before dinner. My hands clasped fervently, I pleaded… read more

Term Paper 17 pages (5975 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

School Board Meeting Opening Reaction Paper

School Board Meeting

Opening with a brief and simple prayer, the school board meeting proceeded as expected. Mundane discussions dominated the agenda. The first issues raised included budgetary assessments, including… read more

Reaction Paper 2 pages (594 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

Should There Be Prayer Allowed in the Public School System? Reaction Paper

Religion

Should there be prayer allowed in the public school system?

The history of prayer in public school has been one that has had a lot of legal interpretation. The… read more

Reaction Paper 3 pages (1049 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Are School-Based Anti-Bullying Programs Decreasing the Rate of Victimization? Thesis

School-Based Bullying

Prevention Programs

The problem regarding how schools may best make their environments physically and emotionally safe leads to the question: Does a school-based program decrease victimization? This leading… read more

Thesis 30 pages (9042 words) Sources: 30 Topic: Child Development / Youth / Teens

---

Prayer for Owen Meany Journal

doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice -- not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was… read more

Journal 3 pages (870 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>