Prayer in Public Schools

The first few English men to settle the Americas came to this continent for various reasons. They wanted to find a place where they could farm and raise a family with financial prosperity, but mostly they came to the Americas to have the freedom to worship God in their own way. They had hopes that this new land would be a place where all people would have the right to serve and pray. Unfortunately, after these many years, their hopes are forgotten. Today, some students have to think twice before talking to their God in any school setting. The United States, with all its rights, is beginning to hold back on one of its most important.

I believe that school boards should not be allowed to limit students' free expression of religion as they have been allowed in occasions. This includes prayer during school hours and after school hours (at football games, graduation ceremonies, etc.). Worshipping has never been a problem in our history, it is a wholesome practice that is not meant to offend anyone, and freedom of religion is a First Amendment Right. The first amendment clearly states "that congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

I don't see how there could even be a debate such as this when the very first amendment clearly states the answer. Have the people of America become so corrupted that we now doubt our constitution? The morals and values that the founding fathers so carefully set up as the foundation of the country are becoming cracked. Even just a small crack in the foundation, such as eliminating school prayers, can decrease the integrity of the foundation and pave the way for more moral decline. Many believe that having morality in our government and installed in our laws is actually infringing on our civil rights. But I believe that morality is a protection from the corrupt, not a restraint on our rights. However, our society has become corrupt.

Those who are against prayer in schools also say that religion is private, and schools are public, so the only appropriate situation is that these two do not mix. They also say that introducing religion in public schools would build walls between children who may not have been aware of religious differences before. But, I wonder how much these influences of religion would really affect the child himself. Would he be automatically persuaded into believing as the person