Essay/Term paper: Prayer in public schools

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Education

Should a Catholic school be reimbursed by the state for school supplies?
Should there be time set aside in school for kids to pray? These are some of
the many questions the U.S. Supreme Court asks themselves when they are
confronted with cases involving religion in school. Although there are some
sound supporting arguments for prayer in school, the opposing arguments
more than justify the non-religious atmosphere of public school. Supporting
arguments for In School Prayer have little validity. For instance one argument
is that the framers of the constitution were religious, so they didn"t mean to
prohibit all government sponsored prayer or acknowledgment of "GOD." This
is assuming one way just to be in favor of the In School Prayer idea.
Pro-Prayer activists also believe that it is VERY important for the nation"s
children to have religious values instilled in them. I strongly disagree with this
statement solely because they are assuming that someone without a religion
has lower or no values as compared to a religious person. Valid arguments on
this side of the issue are rare, but they do exist. One example is that in public
polls, seventy-eight percent of the nations thinks prayer in public schools is a
good idea. This logical at first, but the truth is many polls convey the notion
that voluntary prayer before, after, and during school is forbidden. Another
argument addresses the fact that religion is already everywhere anyway. It is
on our currency, our leaders are sworn into office with reference to "GOD,"
and our flag salute also contains religious statements. These are good points to
address, however, I believe they are wrong as well. "Two wrongs don"t make
a right." Opposing arguments are a lot more convincing than the supporting
points. First of all, students have the right to conduct religious practices on
school property, so there is no need to set aside specific time in the curriculum
for prayer. Secondly, how could a school have prayer without segregating
people into religious and non-religious groups? Finally, prayer serves no
purpose in a school curriculum, some may argue that it helps to teach good
habits, but there are many other ways to teach good habits than just religion.
On a closing note, In School Prayer has its supporters and opposers. My
personal opinion is obviously that this is a completely ludicrous notion and
doesn"t have any substantial support for it.